* 


'  , 


/ 


t 


GRAINS 


FOR  THE 


GRANGERS, 


DISCUSSING  ALL  POINTS  BEARING  UPON  THE 


FARMERS’  MOVEMENT 

FOR  THE 


EMANCIPATION  OF  WHITE  SLAVES  FROM  THE 
SLAVE-POWER  OF  MONOPOLY. 


BY  STEPHE  SMITH, 

AUTHOR  OF  “  ROMANCE  AND  HUMOR  OF  THE  RAIL.” 


PHILADELPHIA: 

John  E.  Potter  &  Company, 

No.  617  SANSOM  STREET. 


I 

I 


WJ> 

Iff  5 

,fs 


♦ ' 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1874,  by 
JOHN  E.  POTTER  AND  COMPANY, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


NOV  3  0  1987 


&CLLE6E  LIBRARY 
CHESTNUT  KILL,  MA  02167 


v/ 


TO  THE  TOILING  HAND. 


All  honor  to  the  toiling  hand, 

Or  in  the  field  or  mine ; 

Or  by  the  harnessed  fire  or  steam, 

Or  on  the  heaving  brine. 

Whatever  loom,  or  bark,  or  plow, 

Hath  wrought  to  bless  our  land, 

Or  given  around,  above,  below, 

We  owe  the  toiling  hand. 

It  battles  with  the  elements, 

It  breaks  the  stubborn  sward ; 

It  rings  the  forge,  the  shuttle  throws, 

And  shapes  the  social  board. 

It  conquers  clime,  it  stems  the  wave, 

And  bears  from  every  strand, 

The  sweetest,  best  of  all  we  have, — 

Gifts  of  the  toiling  hand. 

God  bless  it  with  a  special  grace — 
Striking  for  Freedom’s  cause; 

Emancipation  from  the  power 
Of  Wealth  and  unjust  laws; 

God  give  it  strength,  against  the  few 
Who  rule  but  to  be  bribed, 

And  speed  the  cause  to  which  this  page 
Is  earnestly  inscribed. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

AUNTIE  MONOPOLY  TO  HER  POOR  RELATIONS  GREETING. 

She  refers  to  her  First  Victory _ Steady  Advancement  of  Thought _ Why 

she  Greets  the  Grange _ The  Props  of  Tyranny _ Well-tutored  Knaves _ 

Freedom  of  Opinion _ Compliments  to  Uncle  Sam _ Party  Promises _ 

Warning  against  Advice _ Big  and  Little  Postmasters _ Importance  of  a 

Well-directed  Opposition _ Necessity  of  Organization _ Old  Party  Organi¬ 
zations _ Dropping  Politicians  Out  of  Sight _ The  Farmer’s  Appeal  based 

upon  Justice  and  Right _ Obstacles  in  the  Way _ Success  ! . 15 

CHAPTER  II.  . 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  RURAL  ORDER. 

Its  Birth  and  Parentage - A  Chemical  Process _ A  Serious  Appearance _ 

Saving  Truths  of  Agricultural  Chemistry _ Mr.  William  Saunders _ Con¬ 
gressional  Seeds _ How  to  reach  the  Farmers _ Description  of  the  Order _ 

The  Degrees _ The  various  Grades  of  Granges _ Laborers  and  Maids _ 

Husbandmen  and  Matrons _ The  Grange  and  its  Wives _ Lessons  from 

Masonry _ No  Prejudice  of  Sex _ Ceremony  of  Consecrating  and  Blessing 

_ Initiation _ Progress  of  the  Order _ Its  Social  Attractions . .23 

CHAPTER  III. 

ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MONOPOLIES. 

Governments  in  the  Olden  Time _ A  King  for  Israel _ The  Pilgrims _ 

Born  Monopolies - Monopoly  the  Cause  of  our  Revolution _ The  Second 

Declaration  of  Independence _ The  Third  Declaration  of  Independence _ 

Labor  and  Capital .  __32 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  PANDOWDIES. 

The  Pandowdy  Club _ An  Auxiliary  to  the  Grange _ Its  Obiect  and 

Attractions _ An  Interesting  Meeting _ Farmer’s  Daughters  as  Patrons  of 

Husbandry _ The  word  “Patron” _ Elder  Brown - Judge  Burton  and 

“Conservatism  in  Politics” _ Radicalism —  Pedagogue  Parker  tells  a  Little 

Story _ The  “Movement”  in  Rome _ A  Little  Progress _ Farmer  Roberts 

Brings  Good  Cheer _ Matron  Gardner  Hears  from  Jane _ Brother  Smith 

Points  to  Facts _ Farmer  Churchill  on  “Protection” _ The  President’s 

Reply _ The  Slavery  System _ Emancipation  from  Artificially  Enforced 

Slavery  to  Capital _ What  it  Costs  Matron  Marks  for  a  Spool  of  Thread _ A 

Mechanic  is  Reminded . What  it  Costs  him  for  Sundries _ Merchant  Maple 

on  the  Cost  of  a  Hat _ Mayor  Field  on  Manufactures _ A  Civil  Polity _ 

The  Right  of  the  Majority...  Matron  Pease  knows  a  Thing  or  Two,  as  well  as 
Other  People _ “Weak  Woman,  indeed.” . . . 39 


CHAPTER  V. 

ECONOMIC  PROGRESS. 

Bias  of  Published  Works  on  Political  Economy.. ..Borrowing  from  English 

Authors - The  Victims  of  “Protection” _ Looking  to  Papa  Government _ 

The  Manufacturing  Aristocracy _ A  Clamor  for  Protection _ The  Protective 

Principle  Worsted  in  1844 _ The  Home  Market _ The  Great  Problem _ 

Object  of  Labor - Monopolizing  the  Results  of  Labor . 60 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE. 

IfCongratulates  the  Leading  Press....  Advantage  of  Free  Passes  to  Railways 

- An  Anti-Monopoly  Party - A  Gubernatorial  Deadhead _ A  Railroad 

Game - The  New  Illinois  Tariff _ No  Cure  for  the  Disease _ An  Idiotic 

Philosophy - Matron  Clay  on  the  Key-Note _ The  Work  before  us _ Be¬ 
ginning  the  Reform  at  Home —  .From  Minnesota  and  Iowa _ The  Boys  at 

Clifton —  Catching  a  Spy . . .  y| 


CONTENTS. 


Vll 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  ANTI- MONO  POLY  LEAGUE. 

Signs  of  the  Times _ The  Conflict  between  Protection  and  Free  Trade _ 

The  British  Com  Laws _ A  favorite  Policy  with  England _ The  Agricultur¬ 
ists  and  their  Monopoly _ A  Compromise _ Revisions  of  the  Com  Laws _ 

A  perfect  Specimen  of  Protective  Legislation _ The  Repealing  Act  of  1846 _ 

Commercial  Depression _ The  Germ  o  a  Mighty  Enterprise..  .The  Anti- 

Corn  Law  Association _ The  Free  Trade  Parliament _ A  Bill  to  Abolish 

the  Sliding  Scale _ A  period  of  Unexampled  Distress _ The  Events  of  1843. 

The  prime  Maxim  of  the  League _ Dissolution  of  the  League.. . . 95 

1 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  MANY  AND  THE  FEW. 

The  Question  of  Taxation _ No  Way  of  Making  it  Agreeable _ The 


Problem _ Wealth  and  Industry _ The  Evil  of  Indirect  Taxes _ The  In¬ 

come  Tax McCulloch’s  Objections A  Fallacy A  Legacy  Duty The 

Astor  Case _ A  Great  Disadvantage _ The  Lords  of  the  Land _ Govern¬ 
ment  Bonds - - - - 109 


CHAPTER  IX. 

GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES. 

'  EXTRACTS  FROM  ESSAYS  AND  ADDRESSES,  ACCEPTED  BY  THE  PATRONS 

OF  HUSBANDRY. 

The  Primary  Cause  of  “High  Rates.” - Railway  Rates _ The  Real  Ex¬ 
tortion _ In  our  own  House _ The  Middlemen _ The  Little  Bull  Law _ 

Our  Corporations _ A  Scare _ The  Infant  Pig _ King  Caucus _ Blades 

of  Grass _ Old  Parties  or  New__.„_ . . . . . 121 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  TARIFF,  ITS  HISTORY  AND  INFLUENCE. 

Wealth  the  Produce  of  Labor _ Adam  Smith’s  Discovery _ Law  Makers 

and  Gentry _ Political  Economy  One  Hundred  Years  Ago _ In  England  in 

1773 _ Enhanced  Protection  Increases  Embarrassments _ The  Colonial 


CONTENTS. 


•  •  • 

Vlll 

Policy _ An  Obstacle  to  the  Framers  of  the  Union - The  First  Regular 

Tariff _ The  First  Tariff  Recognizing  Protection  as  a  Principle _ Meetings 

in  Boston  in  1820 _ Webster  on  Protection - The  Source  of  Instability  in 

Legislation - - - 167 


CHAPTER  XI. 

LABOR  REFORM. 

Capital  and  Labor _ Monopolists  and  Land  Tenures - “Protection  to 

Industry.” _ Its  Nobility  and  Gentry _ Demand  and  Supply - What  con¬ 
stitutes  the  Greatest  Burden _ What  Labor  Demands,  etc.,  etc.__ . 179 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A  CHINESE  FABLE. 

A  Recent  Meeting _ A  Brother  Mildly  Dissents _ A  “  Little  ”  Tarifl 

Wanted _ A  “  Little  ”  Strangulation _ An  Iowa  “Maid”  Rises  to  explain 

_ A  Practical  Example _ What  Yong-Sen  said  to  the  Mongoles _ The 


Advantageof  a  few  Obstructions _ The  Wreckers  to  be  Protected _ A  Com¬ 
mittee  on  Whirlpools  and  other  Obstructions . . 190 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

CONCERNING  RIGHTS. 

The  Age  of  the  Farmer’s  Movement _ Equality  in  the  Eye  of  the  Law.... 

The  Many  Against  the  Few _ A  Significant  Movement  Against  Self _ .The  * 

first  Democracy _ Prejudice  versus  Reason _ The  Divine  Right  to  Rob _ A 

Modern  Political  Speech  in  1520 _ The  Twins _ The  Blinding  Process — An 

Old  Dodge _ The  Hero  on  the  Stump _ High  Tariff  and  No  Tariff _ The 

College  and  the  University _ A  Mighty  Power _ What  the  Farmer’s  Move¬ 
ment  Says . . . . . . . . 195 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SEEDS  FOR  EARLY  PLANTING. 

Railroad  Appropriations _ The  Balance  of  Trade _ Land  Steals _ A 

voice  from  Ohio _ The  Pig-Iron  Patriots _ Protection  on  Wheels _ The 

Victims . . . . . . 209 


CONTENTS. 


IX 


CHAPTER  XV. 

BANDS  FOR  THE  BINDERS. 

At  Princeton _ Bureau’s  Demand  About  Ann  Eliza  Jones - The 

Wisconsin  Farmers _ Their  Resolves _ The  Minnesota  Farmers - The 

Indiana  Grangers _ At  the  South _ Consistency _ A  Last  Word . 229 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

FREEDOM  IN  TRADE. 

The  Great  Financial  Resource.. ..No  Connection  between  Revenue  and 

Tariff _ Universal  Free  Trade _ Its  Advantages  on  a  Large  Scale _ Plain 

Points _ What  Interests  are  capable  of  Protection _ The  Office  of  Commerce 

_ Reciprocal  or  Retaliatory  Tariff Our  Secondary  Interest Only  Aggra¬ 
vates  the  Mischief _ National  Independence _ A  Favorite  Argument _ 

The  True  Measure  of  Wages _ How  to  Equalize  Compensation _ Cause  of 

Disparity  of  Remuneration _ Labor’s  Security _ A  Home  Market _ Arti¬ 
ficial  Distinction  of  Labor _ The  Whole  Earth  as  a  Home  Market _ An  In¬ 
justice  and  a  Fallacy _ A  Delusion _ Purely  a  Burden _ A  Chart  to  guide 

Statesmen _ 244 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE. 

t 

The  Servants  of  the  People _ The  Source  of  Power _ The  President’s 

Regal  Authority _ Executive  Patronage _ Centralization  Preventing  a  True 

Expression  of  the  Popular  Will _ Government  Patronage  in  Europe _ 

Checks  against  Back-door  Influence _ Errors  of  our  Constitution _ Office- 

seekers  in  the  United  States _ Stimulants  to  Partisan  Activity _ How  Pol¬ 
iticians  betray  Public  Interest _ How  Presidents  secure  Creatures  and  Sup¬ 
ports,  etc.,  etc . . . 259 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

VOX  POPULI  VOX  DEL 

A  Mockery _ The  Sovereignty  lodged  with  the  People _ The  Will  of  the 

Majority _ Momentary  Outcries _ The  Arbitration  of  the  Ballot-Box _ 


X 


•CONTENTS. 


The  Working  of  the  System _ In  the  Agricultural  Sections _ The  Abuses 

of  the  Nominating  System _ Light  afforded  by  Figures . 268 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  TRUE  REMEDY. 

♦ 

Of  Republics _ The  True  Idea _ Complicated  Political  Machinery _ 

Rude  Beginnings  Two  Thousand  Years  Ago _ A  Nation  made  up  of  States. 

_ Knowledge  Required  to  Comprehend  this  Intricate  Machinery _ Impar¬ 
tial  Suffrage _ Inviting  Sef-Destruction _ Educational  Test  of  Fitness _ 

A  Suggestion _ The  Great  Doctrine _ Our  Experience _ Are  Voters  all 

Men  of  Intelligence  ? _ The  Leaders  of  Parties _ The  Traffic  of  Demagogues. 

_ The  Remedy — The  Universal  Education  of  the  People, . . . 273 

CHAPTER  XX. 

FROM  THE  NATIONAL  GRANGE. 

Letter  from  J.  Wilkinson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 281 


i 


AUNTIE  MONOPOLY 


TO 

HER  POOR  RELATIONS, 

GREETING. 


CHAPTER  I. 

She  refers  to  her  First  Victory _ Steady  Advancement  of  Thought _ Why 

she  Greets  the  Grange _ The  Props  of  Tyranny _ Well-tutored  Knaves _ 

Freedom  of  Opinion _ Compliments  to  Uncle  Sam,  ...Party  Promises _ 

Warning  against  Advice _ Big  and  Little  Postmasters _ Importance  of  a 

Well-directed  Opposition _ Necessity  of  Organization _ Old  Party  Organi¬ 
zations _ Dropping  Politicians  Out  of  Sight _ The  Farmer’s  Appeal  based 

upon  Justice  and  Right _ Obstacles  in  the  Way _ Success  ! 

Having  followed  the  standard  of  Auntie  Mo¬ 
nopoly  from  the  time  of  her  first  great  victory  over 
the  Corn  Laws,  I  am  happy  in  being  assured  of  my 
revered  relation’s  continued  respect  and  confidence. 
As  a  tried  and  trusted  Poor  Relation,  I  am  honored 
with  a  commission  as  envoy  to  other  Poor  Relations, 
and  her  adherents  everywhere,  bearing  glad  tidings 
of  the  progress  of  the  cause,  and  her  best  wishes  for 
its  continued  success.  Doubt  and  uncertainty  disap¬ 
pear  day  by  day,  and  agriculturists  approach  a  clearer 
and  more  intelligent  understanding  of  the  Economic 
Problem.  A  movement  having  for  its  object  the 


1 6  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

i 

emancipation  of  a  people  from  the  slave  power  of 
the  Monopoly  system,  has  already  captivated  public 
opinion  and  bids  fair  to  become  the  most  popular 
movement  of  the  day.  In  your  intelligent  efforts  to 
escape  the  evil  consequences  of  the  monpoly  system, 
day  by  day,  you  are  acquiring  a  more  definite  con¬ 
ception  of  the  remedy  to  be  applied.  This  steady 
advancement  of  thought  is  not  limited  to  the  State 
of  Illinois,  where  my  relative  was  first  offered  shel¬ 
ter  from  the  sneers  and  gibes  of  bloated  and  pro¬ 
tected  Capital.  The  organization  of  “  Granges  is 
proceeding  with  gratifying  rapidity  in  all  sections, 
and  in  all  states.  As  they  multiply,  thought  and  in¬ 
quiry  are  stimulated,  and  sophistry  gives  way  to  es¬ 
tablished  truth.  To  help  this  on,  my  Aunt  has  di¬ 
rected  me  to  compile  and  prepare  from  the  best 
sources,  all  that  has  the  slightest  bearing  upon  the 
subject,  and  to  send  the  result  to  you  in  a  form  con¬ 
venient  alike  for  study  and  preservation.  Her  fer¬ 
vent  prayers  go  with  “  Grains  for  the  Grangers  ”  with 
the  hope  that  they  may  yield  an  abundant  harvest, 
when  Elections  call  the  producing  classes  to  the  field. 

Auntie  Monopoly  would  impress  upon  your  mind 
that  knowledge  is  power.  Ignorance  and  poverty 
are  the  props  of  tyranny  and  oppression.  Ignorant 
men  are  generally  credulous,  and  readily  influenced 
by  positive  assertions  when  uttered  by  men  of  prop¬ 
erty  and  position  in  the  world.  It  often  happens  that 
the  intellects  of  poor  ignorant  men  are  confused  and 
blunted  through  the  mere  presence  of  those  whom 
they  regard  to  be  great  and  good.  Hence  they. are 
often  the  victims  of  well-tutored  knaves,  who  have 


AUNTIE  MONOPOLY’S  GREETING.  I  7 

won  enough  of  popular  approbation  to  hold  some 
office.  They  become  the  playthings  and  support  of 
demagogues,  who,  while  pretending  to  devote  their 
time  and  labor  for  the  common  advantage  of  those 
who  constituted  them,  are  only  attentive  to  their  own 
selfish  interests.  The  difference  of  mental  efficiency 
between  a  child  and  a  man,  depends  more  upon  the 
inexperience  and  want  of  knowledge  of  the  child’ 
than  upon  the  greater  age  of  the  man.  Those  who 
are  inferior  in  experience  and  information  are  chil¬ 
dren,  no  matter  about  their  age ;  in  conflict  with 
the  highly  cultivated  minds  of  educated  men,  they 
must  always  be  beaten,  especially  where  they  are  also 
opposed  by  selfish,  dishonest  pretensions. 

It  is  a  duty  and  a  privilege  of  every  American  cit¬ 
izen  to  express  his  views  on  all  points  affecting  the 
common  good  or  interests  of  all  classes.  While  he 
is  bound  to  bow  in  obedience  to  all  laws  in  existence, 
he  may  attempt  to  point  out  their  errors,  that  they 
may  be  corrected.  Even  when  his  opinions  are  wrong, 
they  maybe  expressed  advantageously  to  himself,  be¬ 
cause  discussion  will  elucidate  and  bring  out  the 
truth  and  render  it  manifest  to  all,  or  at  any  rate,  to 
the  majority. 

In  presenting  her  compliments  to  Uncle  Sam  in 
these  pages,  Auntie  Monopoly  would  not  be  so  rude 
as  to  withhold  a  word  in  defence  of  Congress.  It  is 
its  custom  to  rely  on  the  reports  of  committees  and 
the  heads  of  bureaus  in  the  executive  departments, 
especially  upon  technical  points.  If  the  heads  of  bu¬ 
reaus  be  feeble,  prejudiced,  antiquated  men,  with  per¬ 
sonal  interests  in  personal  schemes,  destitute  of  the 


1 8  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

i 

spirit  of  progress  which  is  characteristic  of  our  age 
and  country ;  or  men  who  are  only  capable  of  imita¬ 
tion  and  of  following  the  precedents  of  other  na¬ 
tions  ;  or  men  so  conservative  that  they  naturally  op¬ 
pose  all  change  and  improvement,  it  is  to  be  antici¬ 
pated  that  Congress  and  the  Executive  himself  will 
be  often  led  astray,  in  spite  of  the  best  intentions. 
It  is  time  that  the  capabilities  and  qualifications  of 
heads  of  bureaus  should  be  scrutinized,  and  where 
they  are  found  corrupt  or  incompetent,  even  in  a  mod¬ 
erate  degree,  more  efficient  men  should  be  substitut¬ 
ed.  The  dominant  party  has  promised  this  scrutiny 
and  fed  your  impatience  with  subterfuge.  Rings 
of  men  seek  to  control  and  do  control  the  party  in 
many  districts  for  plunder  and  only  plunder.  There 
are  many  great,  good  and  brave  men  in  the  Republi¬ 
can  party,  who  seem  appalled  at  the  corruption  of  the 
times — perfectly  helpless  in  their  protestations.  The 
corruptionists  long  ago  seized  the  forts  and  batteries, 
— the  papers  and  party  organs  with  a  few  exceptions 
— and  the  most  of  the  offices.  It  is  useless  and  dan¬ 
gerous  to  fight  against  such  things  inside  of  a  corrupt 
party.  Just  as  dangerous  and  hopeless  as  it  was  for 
Southern  patriots  to  remain  and  resist  treason  in  the 
bosom  of  the  South  during  the  rebellion.  To  speak 
out,  is  political  degradation  and  inquisitorial  proscrip¬ 
tion  ;  to  keep  silent  lest  the  party  may  suffer,  is  vol¬ 
untary  slavery.  Hence  true  reformers  assume  an  in¬ 
dependent  attitude  in  politics,  applauding  the  right 
and  condemning  the  wrong  in  men  and  in  parties. 

My  Aunt  trusts  that  you  will  be  warned  in  time 
against  the  deluge  of  advice  that  will  sweep  upon  you 


AUNTIE  MONOPOLY’S  GREETING. 


19 


from  all  quarters.  You  will  be  tendered  more  of  this 
porridge  than  was  the  negro  before  and  since  the  war, 
or  the  monopolist  Joseph,  when  he  went  into  Egypt 
to  secure  a  corner  on  grain.  A  monopolist  governor 
thinks  you  should  mind  your  own  business  and  let 
politics  alone.  All  present  and  prospective  candidates 
for  office  within  party  lines,  agree  with  the  monop¬ 
olist  governor.  Every  big  and  little  postmaster  will 
urge  you  to  let  politics  alone.  Every  court-house 
ring,  and  cliques  composed  of  little  big  men  in  vil¬ 
lages,  are  sure  that  you  should  steer  clear  of  politics. 
The  organs  too,  the  little  penny  whistles  through  which 
refuse  party  wind  escapes,  being  but  echos  themselves, 
repeat  the  cry.  My  Auntie  asks  in  her  modest  way, 
how  you  are  to  reform  an  abuse,  if  you  let  politics 
alone?  How  punish  the  Credit-Mobilier  thieves,  and 
back-pay  grabbers  ?  H o w  reform  the  cu rrency,  revive 
commerce,  open  markets  and  force  cheap  transport¬ 
ation  ?  How  reach  the  Tariff  and  other  monopolies  ? 

'  How  accomplish  any  tangible  or  valuable  result?  It 
is  not  your  aim,  Auntie  Monopoly  adds,  to  parade 
griefs  and  outrages  without  doing  something  to  rem¬ 
edy  them. 

A  strong,  able  and  well-directed  opposition  is  al¬ 
most  as  important  to  the  success  of  a  free  govern¬ 
ment,  as  a  worthy  and  competent  administration. 
Government  by  one  party,  unrestrained  by  any  appre¬ 
hension  of  defeat,  or  nerved  to  new  measures  by  a 
profound  conviction  that  the  very  existence  of  the 
government  depends  upon  the  success  of  the  dom¬ 
inant  party,  is  always  attended  with  danger.  The  peo¬ 
ple  operating  upon  and  controlling  and  directing  their 


20 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


government  through  the  working  of  the  represent¬ 
ative  principle,  organization  among  them  becomes 
unavoidable  and  as  indispensable  in  politics  as  it 
is  found  to  be  in  war.  This  necessity  is  not  confined 
to  a  free  government,  for  it  is  evidently  only  through 
an  organization  of  their  followers  and  retainers,  that 
the  Privileged  Few  ruling  the  many,  and  striving  to 
perpetuate  their  own  power,  can  succeed  in  securing 
the  passive  obedience  of  the  inert  masses,  or  in  over¬ 
coming  the  open,  but  unconcerted  and  ill-devised  op¬ 
position  of  numbers  in  any  state.  Again,  it  is  as 
clearly  only  through  an  organization  of  themselves, 
that  a  free  populace,  by  their  delegates  and  represent¬ 
atives,  are  enabled  to  meet  together  and  deliberate 
upon  their  affairs,  and  to  devise  and  concert  such  ac¬ 
tion  as  their  welfare  demands.  A  free  people  who 
only  delegate  defined  and  limited  powers  to  their 
government,  usually  require  discussion  and  delibera¬ 
tion  on  their  affairs  prior  to  decision  and  action.  For 
in  order  to  enable  any  portion  of  a  people  to  have  a 
single  representative,  it  is  necessary  to  agree  upon 
some  one  as  a  common  choice.  Now  this  certainly 
can  only  be  effected  by  an  organization.  This  orgam 
ization  necessarily  becomes  in  such  a  case  the  basis 
of  a  party. 

The  “  Granges  ”  are  made  up  of  men  of  both  parties 
and  the  most  significant  feature  of  the  movement  is  the 
clearness  with  which  it  demonstrates  the  fact,  that 
party  lines  are  weakening  and  fading  out.  You  have 
adhered  to  existing  political  organizations  until  they 
have  fallen  behind  the  requirements  of  the  times. 
You  demand  active  results  from  the  party  in  power 


AUNTIE  MONOPOLY’S  GREETING. 


21 


You  would  compel  Legislatures  to  acknowledge  an 
allegiance  higher  than  that  of  mere  party,  that  you 
may  be  in  a  position  to  treat  on  something  like  terms 
of  equality  with  that  overshadowing  monopoly  which 
is  everywhere  putting  the  masses  on  their  mettle.  So 
long  as  the  old  party  organizations  are  maintained, 
old  party  leaders  and  traditions  must  be  supported. 
They  are  kept  up  solely  for  that  purpose.  This  you 
do  not  want.  The  spirit  of  Reform  will  never  find  a 
practical  embodiment  until  the  professional  politic¬ 
ians  on  both  sides,  with  their  Salary-grab,  and  Credit- 
Mobilier  attachments,  are  dropped  out  of  sight.  You 
must  take  the  matter  in  your  own  hands,  regardless 
alike  of  Democratic  and  Republican  parties  as  they 
stand.  The  process  of  new  formation  is  recognizable 
in  the  Farmer’s  organizations,  Auntie  Monopoly  con¬ 
ventions,  and  independent  municipal  and  local  com¬ 
binations  all  over  the  land. 

Your  appeal  is  based  upon  justice  and  right.  The 
great  producing  classes — Farmers  and  Mechanics — 
find  themselves  at  the  absolute  mercy  of  the  money¬ 
changers.  You  are  met  by  the  money  power  at  eve¬ 
ry  turn.  To 'the  greedy  it  offers  fortunes,  to  the  am¬ 
bitious,  it  tenders  high  office.  Congressmen  and  even 
our  chief  magistrate  grasp  backward  and  forward  to 
secure  it,  violating  every  trust  that  you  have  reposed 
in  them.  Unscrupulous  “leaders”  have  long  since 
sunk  their  love  of  country  in  their  loyalty  to  party 
and  the  selfish  gratification  of  their  avarice  or  their 
ambition.  The  irrepressible  conflict  between  capital 
and  labor  lies  at  the  bottom  of  your  movement — a 


22 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


conflict  between  the  money  interest  and  the  produc¬ 
ing  interest. 

Your  Movement  holds  forth  the  only  fair  chance  of 
saving  the  public  morals  and  the  public  liberty.  The 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  success  are  fallacious  legisla¬ 
tion,  and  concentrated  power  of  capital  in  the  hands 
of  the  few.  All  depends  upon  intelligent  and  united 
effort  among  yourselves,  and  the  prompt  application 
of  the  remedy  at  the  polls. 

STEPHE  SMITH. 

Galesburg,  Illinois,  July,  1873. 


1 


CHAPTER  II. 

Its  Birth  and  Parentage - A  Chemical  Process —  A  Serious  Appearance _ 

Saving  Truths  of  Agricultural  Chemistry - Mr.  William  Saunders _ Con¬ 
gressional  Seeds _ How  to  reach  the  Farmers - Description  of  the  Order _ 

The  Degrees _ The  various  Grades  of  Granges - Laborers  and  Maids _ 

Husbandmen  and  Matrons - The  Grange  and  its  Wives _ Lessons  from 

Masonry _ No  Prejudice  of  Sex - Ceremony  of  Consecrating  and  Blessing 

_ Initiation _ Progress  of  the  Order - Its  Social  Attractions. 

As  readers  both  on  the  farms  and  in  the  cities, 
are  growing  curious  concerning  the  great  Rural 
Order,  my  Aunt  is  able  to  gratify,  in  some  measure, 
this  very  reasonable  and  laudable  curiosity. 

In  the  year  1856,  a  wealthy  citizen  of  Portland, 
Maine,  departed  this  life,  leaving  a  vast  accumulation 
of  real  and  personal  property  to  an  only  son.  When 

it  is  added  that  the  family  name  was  Smith,  it  need 
2  23 

1  • 

. 


24 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


not  be  explained  that  the  son  was  both  learned  and 
eccentric.  Instead  of  a  spendthrift,  he  became  a 
chemist,  and  while  experimenting  with  telegraph  bat¬ 
teries,  became  possessed  with  the  idea  that  he  had  a 
mission.  While  a  renowned  namesake — whom  my 
Aunt  is  pleased  to  state  was  three  generations  re¬ 
moved  from  the  main  Smith — was  busy  perfecting  a 
process  by  which  figures  on  bank  papers  could  be 
seduced  from  their  original  shape,  the  eccentric  son 
came  upon  a  secret  which  he  conceived  was  to  bene¬ 
fit  the  whole  civilized  world.  Ceres  appeared  to  him 
in  a  dream  and  commanded  him  to  go  among  the 
western  farmers  and  expound  to  them  the  saving 
truths  of  agricultural  chemistry.  Full  of  this  benev¬ 
olent  project,  he  called  upon  Mr.  Horace  Greeley  and 
obtained  from  that  oracle,  a  few  advance  sheets  of 
“  What  I  Know  about  Farming,”  and  a  bottle  of  dis¬ 
tilled  rain  water  from  Chappaqua.  With  these  and 
a  small  carpet  valise,  he  hastened  to  Mr.  William 
Saunders,  of  Washington  City.  This  gentleman  was 
at  that  time  the  editor  of  an  horticultural  paper,  but 
is  now  connected  with  the  agricultural  bureau,  having 
charge  of  that  department  which  prepares  seeds  in 
available  packages  for  distribution  by  uncertain  Con¬ 
gressmen,  to  the  doubtful  agriculturists  of  their  re¬ 
spective  constituencies.  Young  Smith  consulted 
Saunders  as  to  the  mapping  out  of  his  lecturing  tour 
and  the  best  means  of  gathering  his  audiences.  Un- 
willing  that  so  young  a  plant  should  start  in  a  new 
field  that  had  already  been  copiously  watered,  he  told 
him  that  the  thing  could  not  be  done ;  the  farmers 
were  too  isolated  ;  he  would  save  himself  disappoint- 


THE  RURAL  ORDER. 


25 


ment  and  mortification  by  staying  at  home  and  ex¬ 
perimenting  in  his  back  yard.  Pained  at  the  young 
mans  discomfiture,  the  cultivated  seed  vouchsafed  a 
word  of  consolation.  If  he  would  become  a  par¬ 
doned  criminal,  a  government  defaulter,  the  hero  of 
a  filthy  divorce  suit,  or  a  brother-in-law  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  he  would  find  his  audiences  everywhere,  ready 
made. 

History,  never  having  tackled  the  Smith  Family, 
does  not  mention  that  the  advice  was  taken.  It  is 
however,  known  that  the  bulbous  Saunders  possessed 
himself  of  the  young  man’s  secret,  and  lost  no  time 
in  turning  it  to  his  own  advantage.  He  was  at  head- 
quarters  and  knew  how  other  interests  were  organ¬ 
ized  for  both  good  and  ill.  They  had  the  strength 
born  of  union.  “In  union  there  is  strength,”  saluted 
the  Saunders  from  the  walls  that  hedged  him  about, 
and  looked  down  upon  him  from  shelf  after  shelf  of 
agricultural  reports.  Why  should  not  the  agricul¬ 
tural  interests  secure  strength  through  union  ?  The 
Saunders  revolved  these  things  in  the  agricultural 
portion  of  its  brain — consulted  other  seeds — and 
worked  them  out  on  paper.  Thus,  in  the  winter 
of  1867,  was  founded,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  the 
great  rural  order  which  is  now  making  such  a  stir 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  this  land. 

O  O 

Who  shall  say  that  its  representatives  shall  not  one 
day  be  summoned  to  Washington,  there  to  treat  with 
the  enemy  under  a  flag  of  truce  ? 

The  organization  of  this  order,  as  described  to  my 
Aunt,  is  rather  complex.  At  the  base  is  the  subordi¬ 
nate,  local  or  neighborhood  Grange.  Above  this, 


26  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

the  State  Grange  ;  at  the  apex,  the  National  Grange. 
The  chief  duties  of  the  National  Grange  are,  to 
collect  and  disseminate  information  for  the  benefit  of 
the  whole  Order,  and  to  place  State  Granges  in  co¬ 
operative  communication,  and  to  advise  subordinate 
Granges  with  reference  to  matters  of  special  inter¬ 
est.  There  are  four  degrees  in  the  subordinate 
Grange — “  Laborer  or  Maid,”  (according  to  sex,) 
“Cultivator  or  Shepherdess,”  “Harvester  or  Gleaner,” 
and  “  Husbandman  or  Matron.”  On  entering  the 
State  Grange,  which  is  composed  of  the  Masters  of 
subordinate  Granges,  and  such  Masters  wives  as  are 
Matrons,  the  fifth  degree  is  obtained,  which  is  known 
as  “  Pomona — hope.”  “  Flora — charity,”  the  sixth 
degree,  is  obtained  on  entering  the  National  Grange, 
which  is  composed  of  the  Masters  of  State  Granges, 
and  such  of  their  wives  as  have  taken  the  previous 
degree.  “  Ceres — faith  ”  is  the  seventh  degree,  for 
which  all  members  of  the  National  Grange  are  eli¬ 
gible,  after  a  year’s  honorable  service.  This  degree 
has  charge  of  the  secret  work  of  the  Order,  and  is 
the  tribunal  for  trying  impeachments.  As  many 
well-informed  and  prominent  Masons  are  members, 
the  work  of  the  Order  is  conducted  with  the  utmost 
harmony  and  regularity. 

The  gentle  reader  will  already  have  noticed  that 
the  “  Patrons  ”  are  as  free  from  the  prejudice  of  sex 
as  Miss  Anthony  herself  could  desire.  One  of  the 
head  centres  is  quoted  as  saying  *  “  Suffrage  for 
women  is  coming ;  we  have  the  certain  means  of 
knowing  that  which  even  the  press  cannot  find  out. 
We  have  taken  a  broad  stride  in  the  world’s  progress ; 


THE  RURAL  ORDER. 


2  7 


we  have  given  woman  her  true  place.  We  not  only 
make  her  eligible  to  our  highest  office,  but  we  have 
three  places  which  only  a  woman  can  fill.  You  may 
call  it  the  poetry  of  our  order,  but  it  is  a  part  of  the 
foundation  as  well  as  a  principle,  for  no  person  can  be¬ 
come  a  member  until  they  have  been  consecrated  and 
blessed  by  her  hands.”  The  ceremony  of  consecrat¬ 
ing  and  blessing  is  so  original,  that  it  would  be  treat¬ 
ing  my  Aunt  very  shabbily  to  abridge  a  syllable  : 

“  On  a  remote  platform,”  she  says,  “  in  the  hall 
where  the  meeting  is  held,  may  be  seen  the  three 
women  whose  charming  hands  must  consecrate  the 
new  aspirant.  The  first  is  Flora,  named  from  myth¬ 
ology.  Her  brow  is  bound  with  flowers,  and  if  the 
proper  season  is  at  hand,  they  trail  in  garlands  from 
her  garments,  which  are  as  fleecy  as  the  clouds. 
From  the  profusion  before  her  she  selects  a  specimen 
and  presents  it  to  the  new  accession.  To  the  inno¬ 
cent  young  girl  she  presents  a  lily.  To  the  juiceless 
old  bachelor  a  sprig  of  rue.  The  woman  who  repre¬ 
sents  Ceres  is  usually  a  matron.  Her  ripe  forehead 
is  surmounted  with  a  crown  of  straw,  which  is  dotted 
with  golden  grain.  She  bestows  upon  the  candidate 
a  handful  of  her  treasures,  or,  perhaps,  an  ear  of  corn, 
after  her  part  of  the  ceremony  is  over.  Last,  but 
not  least,  comes  Pomona,  symbolic  of  the  riches  of 
harvest  and  autumn.  A  glorious  woman  she  should 
be.  When  the  candidate  has  passed  her  hands, 
nothing-  more  can  be  done  for  him.  He  is  a  full- 
fledged  Patron  of  Husbandry.”  We  should  add  that, 
after  these  imposing  ceremonies  are  over,  and  the 
business  is  transacted,  the  Grange  resolves  itseli.  into 


28 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


a  committee  of  the  whole  on  having  a  good  time — 
in  warm  weather,  usually  adjourning  to  out-doors. 

If  you  ask  my  Aunt  if  this  does  not  seem  like 
child’s  play,  or  the  manner  in  which  Good  Templars 
run  the  gilt-edged  temperance  business,  she  refers 
you  to  the  railroad  people,  and  to  the  politicians, 
who  have  opinions  of  their  own  upon  the  subject, 
suitable  for  the  retail  trade.  The  Order  is  rapidly 
extending  over  the  Union.  It  has  formed  a  home 
and  habitation  in  twenty-six  states  and  territories, 
and  in  twenty-one  states  there  are  state  organiza¬ 
tions.  The  number  of  Granges  is  roughly  estimated 
at  5,147,  with  an  average  membership  of  50,  making 
a  total  membership  which  my  Aunt  thinks  you  may 
figure  up  for  yourself.  In  Iowa  there  are  1,765 
Granges  alone,  making  an  increase  of  over  one 
thousand  since  January  last.  The  Order  is  now  re¬ 
ceiving  members  at  the  rate  of  from  three  hundred 
to  five  hundred  a  day.  It  can  afford  to  indulge,  if  it 
chooses,  in  very  singular  and  even  puerile  ceremo¬ 
nies,  without  forfeiting  its  claim  to  respectful  consid- 
ation. 

Socially,  the  Order  has  accomplished  much  good. 
Heretofore  farmers,  especially  in  the  sparsely  settled 
districts,  knew  little  or  nothing  of  each  other  ;  seldom 
came  together,  and  were  without  the  mental  stimu¬ 
lant  generated  by  the  friction  of  mind  against  mind. 
The  Grange  brought  them  together.  It  was  estab- 
lished  for  their  benefit ;  they  gravitated  towards  it, 
and  soon  the  cohesive  power  of  mutual  kindness, 
good  will,  and  interest  bound  them  together  to  pro¬ 
mote  the  common  welfare.  The  isolation  and  com- 


THE  RURAL  ORDER. 


29 


parative  solitude  which  prevailed  so  largely,  and 
tended  to  dry  up  the  better  feelings  of  nature,  were 
succeeded  by  a  regular  convening  of  the  farmers  and 
their  families,  at  stated  periods,  resulting  in  a  better 
understanding  of  each  other,  and  in  enlarged  views 
of  men  and  things.  There  is,  in  consequence,  more 
reading,  more  discussion,  and  more  independent 
thinking.  Improvements  are  being  gradually  intro¬ 
duced  into  the  social  department  of  the  Order,  ren¬ 
dering  the  meetings  attractive  and  entertaining  as 
well  as  instructive.  The  Grange  room  is  a  kind  of 
moral  club-room  for  the  enjoyment  of  both  sexes. 
There  is  much  music  in  the  ritual  to  enliven  the  cer¬ 
emonies,  and  many  ot  the  Granges  possess  libraries 
for  the  amusement  and  instruction  of  its  members. 
This,  it  is  claimed,  naturally  has  a  tendency  to  pre¬ 
vent  young  men  from  leaving  rural  life,  where  they 
possess  a  comfortable  competence,  for  precarious  com¬ 
petition  in  the  large  cities.  Every  Grange  pays  into 
the  national  treasury  $15  for  a  dispensation,  receiving 
in  return  material  which,  at  the  lowest  figure  costs 
not  less  than  six  dollars,  and  consisting  of  sample 
regalias,  manuals,  song  books,  blank  books,  and  in  a 
word,*  everything  essential  to  starting  the  Order. 
All  the  funds  are  deposited  in  the  Farmers’  Loan 
and  Trust  Company,  in  New  York,  where  there  is 
to-day  a  fund  of  over  $20,000.  When  fifteen  subor¬ 
dinate  Granges  are  organized  in  a  state,  authority  is 
granted  to  organize  a  State  Grange,  composed  ot 
masters  of  the  subordinate  Granges,  who,  in  turn, 
elect  their  Master,  and  he  becomes  a  member  of  the 
National  Grange. 


30 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


The  National  Grange  was  organized  on  the  even¬ 
ing  of  Dec.  4,  1867,  at  the  office  of  Mr.  Saunders,  on 
Four-and-a-half  street,  Washington  City,  between 
Missouri  avenue  and  the  old  canal,  by  the  election 
of  the  following  officers  :  Master,  William  Saunders, 
of  District  of  Columbia ;  Lecturer,  J.  R.  Thompson, 
of  Vermont ;  Overseer,  Anson  Bartlett,  of  Ohio ; 
Steward,  William  Muri,  of  Missouri;  Assistant 
Steward,  A.  S.  Moss,  of  New  York;  Chaplain,  Rev. 
A.  B.  Grosh,  Pennsylvania;  Treasurer,  Wm.  M.  Ire¬ 
land,  Pennsylvania;  Secretary,  O.  H.  Kelly,  Minne¬ 
sota  ;  Gate  Keeper,  Edward  P.  Farris,  Illinois.  Sev¬ 
eral  of  the  persons  from  the  states  elected  officers 
were  not  present,  but  were  elected  because  of  the 
interest  they  had  manifested  in  the  matter,  and  with 
the  hope  that  they  would  serve.  It  was  thought 
proper  to  elect  the  officers  for  a  term  of  five  years, 
since  the  majority  of  them  had  actively  aided  in 
establishing  the  organization,  and  having  matured 
their  plan  of  operations,  desired  a  sufficient  time  to 
carry  it  out  in  accordance  with  their  own  precon¬ 
ceived  ideas.  Soon  after  a  subordinate  Grange  was 
established  in  Washington,  as  a  school  of  instruction 
and  to  test  the  efficiency  of  the  ritual.  This  Grange 
numbered  about  sixty  members.  The  first  dispensa¬ 
tion  was  issued  to  a  subordinate  lod^e  at  Harrisburg, 
Pa.,  the  second  to  a  lodge  in  Fredonia,  N.  Y.,  and  the 
third  at  Columbus,  O.  To-day  the  weekly  bulletin 
of  the  Secretary  shows  the  number  of  Granges  to  be 
as  follows : 


THE  RURAL  ORDER, 


31 


GRANGES  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Alabama _  21 

Arkansas _ 26 

California . 35 

Georgia . 77 

Illinois .  562 

Indiana . . .  272 

Iowa . 1,765 

Kansas .  405 

Kentucky .  1 

Louisiana . . .  1 1 

Massachusetts .  1 

Michigan _ 40 

Minnesota .  330 

Mississippi  . .  200 

Missouri  . .  501 

Nebraska .  305 

New  Jersey .  3 


New  York . .  8 

North  Carolina . . 36 

Ohio . . . 80 

Oregon . . 24 

Pennsylvania . . 9 

South  Carolina . __i 31 

Tennessee .  63. 

Texas .  2 

Vermont . .  24 

Virginia . 3 

West  Virginia . .  2 

Wisconsin . 189 

Colorado .  2 

Dakota .  n 

Canada  .  8 


Total . 5,147 


i 


ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MONOPOLIES. 


- -*■ - 

CHAPTER  III. 

Governments  in  the  Olden  Time. _ A  King  for  Israel _ The  Pilgrims _ 

Born  Monopolies _ Monopoly  the  Cause  of  our  Revolution _ The  Second 

Declaration  of  Independence _ The  Third  Declaration _ Labor  and  Capital. 

Governments  in  the  olden  time,  were  instituted 
not  for  men,  but  for  man.  The  patriarchs,  as  the 
head  of  families  or  tribes,  had  a  monopoly  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  their  people,  both  civilly  and  ecclesiasti¬ 
cally.  The  children  of  Israel  demanded  a  king,  thus 
admitting  that  they  were  not  capable  of  self-govern¬ 
ment.  The  right  of  governing  the  many  by  the  few, 
was  a  part  of  the  Mosaic  law,  and  has  been  the  his¬ 
tory  of  every  people.  Man  .has  sought  and  now 
seeks  to  govern  men  either  by  the  monopoly  of  blood 
or  wealth,  in  every  nation,  whether  kingdom,  empire, 
or  republic.  Because  they  were  not  the  few  that  gov¬ 
erned  the  many,  the  pilgrims  sought  the  wilds  of 
America,  and  not  for  the  sole  reason  that  they  could 
not  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their 
own  consciences.  Had  they  ruled,  others  would  have 
been  forced  into  the  pilgrimage  business.  Undoubt¬ 
edly  honest  in  their  religious  belief,  nevertheless  they 
exercised  more  tyranny  than  their  oppressors  had 
done  by  acts  of  parliament.  Not  only  did  they  de¬ 
sire  a  monopoly  of  the  water  and  land  of  Massachu- 

32 


ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MONOPOLIES. 


33 


setts  bay,  but  they  claimed  a  divine  right  to  get  up  a 
“  corner  ”  in  religion. 

It  was  not  tax  that  caused  the  revolt  bv  the  col- 

* 

onies,  but  the  establishment  of  custom-houses,  an  at¬ 
tempt  by  men  born  rulers — the  blood  monopoly  of 
England,  to  derive  a  revenue  from  imposts.  Long 
before  men  complained  of  taxation  without  repre¬ 
sentation,  the  revolution  was  a  fixed  fact.  When 
George  III.  established  a  schedule  of  duties  on  im- 
ports,  the  assembly  of  North  Carolina,  Nov.  4,  1769, 
declared  against  the  right  of  Great  Britain  to  tax  the 
colonies.  In  1770  the  “  regulators  ”  of  that  colony, 
whose  headquarters  were  at  Hillsborough,  were  or- 
ganized.  On  the  16th  of  May,  1771,  Gov.  Tryon  at¬ 
tempted  with  a  force  of  state  militia  to  suppress  them. 
An  engagement  took  place  near  Alamance  Creek,  re¬ 
sulting  in  the  death  of  twenty-seven  militia  and  nine 
regulators.  This  was  the  first  blood  shed  in  defense 
of  the  principle  that  men,  and  not  man  should  gov¬ 
ern.  This  republic  is  a  child  of  accident.  The  col¬ 
onies  were  loyal  to  the  British  crown.  They  were 
taught  to  believe  in  the  divine  right  of  kings  to  rule, 
and  the  birth-right  of  the  house  of  lords  to  tax. 
Gage  was  received  in  Boston,  May,  15,  1774,  with  an 
address  of  welcome,  although  the  embassador  of  a  king. 
In  October,  1 774,  Washington  said,“  Notone  thinking 
mind  in  America  desired  independence.”  In  1 775,  Jay 
expressed  great  abhorrence  for  the  “  claim  of  the  few  ” 
for  independence.  “  Our  wish,”  said  he,“  is  that  Brit¬ 
ain  and  the  colonies,  like  the  oak  and  ivy,  may  grow 
and  increase  together.”  Samuel  Adams  wrote,  “  We 
will  suffer  indignities,  rather  than  precipitate  a  crisis.” 


34  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

Warren  expressed  himself  as  in  favor  of  petition, 
and  not  a  resort  to  arms.  They  had  no  “  precedents  ” 
for  violation.  The  call  for  the  congress  of  1776  was 
to  “  resolve.”  When  the  “  declaration  ”  was  adopted 
some  members  hesitated  to  sign.  Peace  they  desired 
although  at  the  cost  of  freedom.  To  the  wavering 
ones  Rev.  John  Witherspoon,  of  New  Jersey,  said, 
“that  noble  instrument  on  your  table  which  insures 
immortality  to  its  owner  should  be  subscribed  this 
very  morning  by  every  pen  in  the  house.  He  who 
will  not  respond  to  its  accents  and  strain  every  nerve 
to  carry  into  effect  its  provisions,  is  unworthy  the 
name  of  freeman.  Although  these  gray  hairs  must 
descend  into  the  sepulchre,  I  would  infinitely  rather 
they  should  descend  thither  by  the  hand  of  the  pub¬ 
lic  executor,  than  desert  at  its  crisis  the  sacred  cause 
of  my  country.”  Forthwith  the  declaration  was 
signed  by  every  member.  With  varying  success, 
without  knowing  that  the  end  would  be  a  republic  or 
a  monarchy,  the  war  went  on.  With  the  treaty  of 
peace  came  the  want  of  a  government,  not  a  confed¬ 
eracy,  The  revolution  had  been  a  success ;  would  a 
republic  succeed  ?  what  model  should  be  adopted  ? 
like  Rome?  great  through  conquest  and  blood  ;  Flor¬ 
ence?  where  the  people  ruled;  Venice?  where  the 
people  had  no  voice;  Switzerland?  with  a  president 
for  an  ornament ;  or  the  republic  of  Poland,  gov¬ 
erned  by  a  king ;  a  federal  government  was  established. 
The  monopoly  of  birth  and  blood  received  its  first 
lesson  from  the  people.  Men  and  not  man  was  to 
govern. 


ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MONOPOLIES.  35 

The  war  of  1812  was  fought  and  won  against  the 
monopoly  exercised  by  England  on  the  high  seas. 

The  second  declaration  of  independence  was  the 
war  of  the  rebellion.  Capital  monopolized  the  labor 
of  the  slaves.  The  emancipation  proclamation  es¬ 
tablished  the  principle  that  labor  and  compensation 
must  go  together.  An  amendment  to  the  constitu- 
tion  of  the  republic  made  that  principle  more  bind¬ 
ing  and  gave  it  the  sanction  of  law.  The  first  dec- 
laration  was  for  white  men  ;  the  second  was  for  all 
men.  Freedom  under  both  was  secured  by  the  sword. 
You  have  announced  the  necessity  of  a  third  decla¬ 
ration — commercial  freedom,  emancipation  from  the 
slavery  of  monopolies,  and  personal  independence- 
It  is  this  declaration,  that  is  briefly,  and  it  is  hoped, 
attractively  discussed  in  these  pages. 

Labor  is  entitled  to  a  fair  share  of  the  profits  made 
by  the  use  and  combination  of  labor  and  capital. 
Capital  is  no  more  entitled  to  all  the  profit  of  labor 
and  capital,  less  the  wages  paid  to  labor,  than  labor 
is  entitled  to  all  the  profits,  less  the  interest  paid  to 
capital.  As  wages  are  paid  to  labor,  so  should  inter¬ 
est  be  paid  to  capital,  and  whatever  is  earned  by 
joint  and  combined  labor  and  capital  above  wages  and 
interest,  should  be  fairly  divided  between  labor  and 
capital.  It  is  this  monopoly  upon  which  we  would 
bring  to  bear  the  influence  of  an  intelligent  opposi¬ 
tion.  Our  order  is  founded  upon  the  axioms  that 
the  products  of  the  soil  comprise  the  basis  of  all 
wealth  ;  that  individual  happiness  depends  upon  gen¬ 
eral  prosperity;  and  that  the  wealth  of  a  country 
depends  upon  the  general  intelligence  and  mental 


' 


3 6  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

culture  of  -the  producing  classes.  When  we  shall 
have  successfully  demonstrated  our  faith  in  all  this 
by  prompt  and  united  action,  monopolies  will  cease 
to  exist.  But  that  action  must  not  falter  or  bend 
until  the  whole  breed  shall  have  been  laid  low.  That 
blow  will  perhaps  be  the  most  effective  for  immediate 
good  which  is  aimed  at  the  monopoly  of  party  and 
corrupt  politics.  It  may  reach  our  best  friend  or 
most  respected  relative  ;  but  it  is  a  cause  worthy  of 
the  sacrifice,  and  everything  save  principle  must  be 
put  aside. 


THE  PANDOWDY  CLUB. 


_ 


- 


_ 


_ 


THE  PANDOWDIES. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Pandowdy  Club _ An  Auxiliary  to  the  Grange _ Its  Obiect  and 

Attractions _ An  Interesting  Meeting - Fanner’s  Daughters  as  Patrons  of 

Husbandry...  The  word  “Patron” _ Elder  Brown - Judge  Burton  and 

“Conservatism  in  Politics” _ Radicalism...  Pedagogue  Parker  tells  a  Little 

Story _ The  “Movement”  in  Rome _ A  Little  Progress _ Farmer  Roberts 

Brings  Good  Cheer _ Matron  Gardner  Hears  from  Jane _ Brother  Smith 

Points  to  Facts _ Farmer  Churchill  on  “Protection” - The  President’s 

Reply _ The  Slavery  System _ Emancipation  from  Artificially  Enforced 

Slavery  to  Capital _ What  it  Costs  Matron  Marks  for  a  Spool  of  Thread _ A 

Mechanic  is  Reminded . What  it  Costs  him  for  Sundries _ Merchant  Maple 

on  the  Cost  of  a  Flat _ Mayor  Field  on  Manufactures - A  Civil  Polity _ 

The  Right  of  the  Majority. Matron  Pease  knows  a  Thing  or  Two,  as  well  as 
Other  People _ “Weak  Woman,  indeed.” 

The  Pandowdy  Club  is  an  auxiliary  to  the  Grange, 
flourishing  more  especially  in  towns,  cities  and  busi¬ 
ness  centres.  It  is  designed  for  landholders,  who 
entrust  their  farms,  in  the  vicinity,  to  tenants,  or 
representatives  of  the  professions,  who  favor  reform 
and  sympathize  with  the  producing  classes  in  their 
great  movement.  It  took  its  name  from  a  New 
England  dish — of  the  nature  of  a  pot-pie — which 
flourished,  like  all  good  dishes,  at  an  earlier  day.  It 
is  the  Younor  Men’s  Christian  Association  of  the 

o 

movement,  and  more  ethical,  perhaps,  than  agricul¬ 
tural  in  its  character.  It  has  received  a  new  impetus 

39  3 


40 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


since  the  Anti-monopolists  charged  all  along  the  line, 
and  whole  evenings  are  now  frequently  given  up  to  the 
discussion  of  matters  pertaining  to  the  best  interests 
of  the  cause.  The  object  is  to  harmonize  new  ele¬ 
ments,  husband  strength,  and  enlighten  members 
upon  doubtful  points.  It  indulges  in  essays,  chess, 
cold  tongue,  conversation,  raisins,  poetry,  debate, 
newspapers,  agricultural  publications,  chicken  salad, 
croquet,  and  the  bringing  about  of  social  reforms. 

A  very  interesting  meeting  took  place  at  the  Pan¬ 
dowdy  Club  Rooms  last  evening,  and  it  is  believed 
a  condensed  report  of  the  proceedings  will  prove  of 
interest  to  Pandowdies  everywhere. 

Professor  Jones,  of  the  Academy,  presided.  The 
minutes  of  the  preceding  meeting  were  read,  ap¬ 
proved,  and  ordered  to  their  proper  place  in  the 
Blue  Book.  The  president  then  declared  discussion 
in  order,  each  member  to  choose  his  or  her  own 
topic. 

The  Widow  Martin  thought  it  strange  that  so 
many  farmers’  daughters  had  enrolled  themselves  as 
Patrons  of  Husbandry. 

Bachelor  Bland,  of  the  “  Dunn  Farm,”  thought 
it  was  the  first  business  they  could  get  into,  and  the 
last  they  could  get  out  of. 

Farmer  Crane  didn’t  like  the  words  “  Patron,” 
“  Patronage,”  and  all  that. 

Elder  Brown  agreed  with  his  friend.  They  are 
words  that  a  free  and  independent  people  might  well 
expunge  from  their  vocabulary.  The  origin  of  the 
term  “  Patron  ”  is  disreputable.  When  a  Roman 
patrician  freed  his  slaves,  he  did  not  free  them 


THE  PANDOWDIES. 


41 


unconditionally.  He  retained  certain  feudal  rights 
over  them,  in  virtue  of  which  they  styled  him  Patro - 
nits ,  that  is,  Superior  and  Protector.  Hence,  in  aris¬ 
tocratic  England,  after  the  feudal  system  had  been 
abolished,  the  great  men,  who  were  then  no  longer 
the  absolute  lords  and  masters  of  the  little  ones, 
assumed  the  title  of  their  patrons.  The  English 
masses,  in  the  progress  of  time,  became  too  formid¬ 
able  and  too  sturdy  to  be  snubbed  and  buffeted  with 
impunity,  but  they  still  continue  to  call  the  higher 
classes  by  a  name  that  implies  service  on  the  one 
hand,  and  condescending  favor  on  the  other.  We 
have  imported  the  word  into  this  country  as  a  fitting 
one  to  be  applied  by  the  workingmen  of  America  to 
the  aristocracy  of  the  purse.  Away  with  it!  To 
solicit  “  patronage  ”  is  to  cringe,  to  “  eat  dirt,”  as  they 
say  in  China,  to  crook  the  supple  hinges  of  the  knee, 
that  thrift  may  follow  fawning.  Why,  your  upstart, 
mercenary  politicians  are  telling  you  now  that  they 
are  going  to  “patronize”  the  farmers!  American 
workingmen  sometimes  so  far  forget  their  sovereign 
position  as  to  boast  of  having  “patrons”  among 
people  of  standing.  As  if  any  man  in  this  republic 
had  any  right  to  look  down  upon  its  intelligent  work¬ 
ers,  or  it  was  seemly  in  any  honest  American  toiler 
to  call  his  fellow  citizen  and  political  equal  by  a 
name  which  the  half-breed  Latin  helot — transformed 
from  a  slave  to  a  client — used  with  bated  breath  and 
downcast  eyes  in  addressing  his  former  master.  We 
have  something  too  much  of  “patronage”  in  the 
United  States,  as  we  agriculturists  can  testify.  Rail¬ 
ways  and  Protective  Tariffs  are  our  “  patrons,”  the 


42 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS 


scurvy  politician  says.  From  the  government  de¬ 
partments  in  Washington,  down  to  the  avenues  of 
this  inland  town,  toadyism  kisses  the  feet  of  assump¬ 
tion,  and  profits  by  the  contact  of  lip  and  sole.  The 
social,  like  the  political  scale,  has  its  regular  grada¬ 
tions, — degradations  were  perhaps  the  better  term — 
and  class  distinctions  are  more  sharply  drawn  and 
more  rigorously  insisted  on  every  year.  We  seem 
to  be  rapidly  adopting  the  artificial,  undemocratic, 
irrational,  social  classifications  every  year. 

Judge  Burton  wanted  to  warn  the  Pandowdies 
against  conservatism  in  Politics,  the  enemy  in  a  thin 
disguise.  The  establishment  of  monopoly  and  privi¬ 
lege  is  the  birth  Qf  conservatism ;  and  the  senti¬ 
ments  which  generate  it  would  intuitively  discover, 
and  therefore  favor  and  support  the  policy  which  is 
to  furnish  it  with  food.  By  conservatism  in  politics, 
no  one  pretends  to  mean  the  maintenance  of  the 
rights  of  the  people,  the  preservation  of  the  purity 
of  the  laws,  or  a  scrupulous  adherence  to  the  restric¬ 
tions  and  limits  on  power,  but  really  nothing  more 
than  a  policy  which  favors  particular  interests,  and 
sustains  peculiar  rights  or  exclusive  privileges  in  cer¬ 
tain  classes.  Conservatism  and  consolidation  nat¬ 
urally  go  together  in  our  government.  It  is  only 
through  the  exercise  of  implied,  and  therefore  ques¬ 
tionable  and  doubtful  powers,  which  a  strict  construc¬ 
tion  of  the  Constitution  places  among  the  ungranted 
and  reserved  powers,  that  the  Federal  Government  can 
invest  any  class  or  set  of  persons  with  any  exclusive 
privileges  or  monopolies.  The  first  step,  therefore, 
in  creating  monopolies,  is  to  expand  the  functions  of 


THE  PANDOWDIES. 


43 


the  Federal  Government  into  those  oi  a  more  en¬ 
larged  and  unrestricted  central  authority,  by  assum¬ 
ing  for,  and  consolidating  in  it,  more  than  the  granted 
powers.  Thus  is  shown  the  natural  harmony  and  alli¬ 
ance  which  exists  in  our  government  between  the  polit¬ 
ical  principles  of  conservatism  and  those  of  consol¬ 
idation.  In  Hamilton’s  philosophy  of  government, 
consolidation  was  a  means  and  not  an  end.  It  is  not, 
however,  a  necessary  consequence  that  the  same 
means  would,  in  all  countries  and  under  every  cir¬ 
cumstance,  lead  to  the  same  end,  which  is  to  strengthen 
and  perpetuate  the  government,  by  allying  with  it,  and 
keeping  dependent  upon  it,  great  and  powerful  inter¬ 
ests,  founded  on  exclusive  privileges — any  special 
industry  peculiarly  fostered  and  protected.- 

Elder  Brown. — Let  us  declare  for  Radicalism 
at  once !  [Applause.] 

Judge  Burton. — Conservatives  are  often  men  of 
well-stored  minds  and  extensive  influence.  But  their 
habits  of  thought,  their  tastes,  their  imaginations,  all 
unite  to  fasten  their  conviction' to  the  must  and  fra<r- 
ments  of  by-gone  years.  The  crumbling  ruin,  sup¬ 
ported  by  the  faithful  ivy,  instead  of  teaching  them  a 
useful  lesson,  becomes  an  object  of  pious  adoration. 
Pondering  over  books,  written  time  out  of  date,  they 
catch  glances  of  all  the  inspired  wisdom  that  is  not 
erased.  From  the  alcoves  of  ancient  cathedrals,  they 
hear  the  loud-swelling  tones  of  the  organ,  and  imagine 
it  is  breathing  in  the  music  of  the  past.  They  love 
to  linger  amid  the  tombs  of  departed  empires,  and 
copying  their  inscriptions,  blazon  them  forth  as  suit¬ 
able  constitutions  for  young  and  vigorous  republics. 


44 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


They  love  the  past  with  a  fondness  so  devoted  that 
they  will  embrace  even  the  corrupting  forms  that  lie 
enclosed  within  its  sepulchres.  To  them  the  death 
knells  of  antiquity  sound  sweeter  than  the  alarum 
bells  of  revolution.  Disgusted  with  the  present, 
actual  condition  of  things,  they  hover  around  the  past 
with  feelings  of  melancholy,  and  gaze  into  the  future 
with  the  gloominess  of  despair.  They  will  maintain 
that  every  radical  movement  must  necessarily  be  a 
destroying  one,  and  must  lead  to  the  desolation  of 
all  that  is  fair  and  venerable  in  the  works  of  past 
ages. 

Lawyer  Miller. — Directly  opposed  to  this  con¬ 
servative  element  which  would  keep  the  affairs  of 
state  in  a  condition  of  perpetual  fixedness,  is  the 
radical  element,  which  is  constantly  modifying,  chang¬ 
ing,  reforming  and  improving  the  institutions  of 
society.  The  principle,  that  because  a  thing  exists, 
it  should  continue,  is  not  a  doctrine  known  in  the 
creed  of  the  radicalist.  Wherever  abuses  need  re¬ 
moving,  he  is  ready  to  apply  the  remedy.  From  the 
pages  of  the  past  he  draws  the  profitable  lessons  of 
experience.  Instead  of  pining  over  the  follies  of 
modern  innovations,  as  contrasted  with  the  hoary 
glories  of  “  the  olden  time,”  he  erects,  on  the  ruins  of 
departed  empires,  the  beacon  light  which  is  to  point 
out  to  future  nations  the  shoals  and  breakers  that 
caused  the  ruin  of  those  that  preceded  them.  It  is 
his  pleasure  to  remodel  whatever  is  capable  of  reno¬ 
vation.  It  is  his  mission  to  utterly  destroy  what  time 
and  decay  have  combined  to  render  worthless  for 
present  purposes.  He  advances  boldly  and  fearlessly 


THE  PANDOWDIES. 


45 


to  the  work  of  reform — while  the  hand  of  innovation 
clears  the  rubbish  from  his  pathway.  Progress  his 
aim,  and  “onward  ”  his  motto,  he  heeds  not  the  alarm¬ 
ing  cries  of  his  conservative  brethren.  They  have 
warmed  their  hearts  at  the  smouldering  ruins  of  the 
past,  while  his  own  is  gleaming  with  bright  hopes  for 
the  future. 

Pedagogue  Parker  thought  it  was  time  for  a  little 
story,  and,  obtaining  consent,  went  on  :  The  people 
of  Rome,  said  the  pedagogue,  contended  against  the 
tariff  laid  upon  corn  and  salt,  and  by  their  repeated 
“  agitations  ”  caused  the  repeal  of  the  law  laying  that 
tax.  Let  us  look,  for  a  moment,  at  one  of  their  mass 
meetings.  On  the  Campus  Martius  all  the  masses  of 
Rome  are  assembled,  and  the  excitement  among  the 
millions  is  intense.  That  sea  of  human  heads  is 
swayed  to  and  fro  ;  low  murmurings  and  bitter  invec¬ 
tives  come  upon  the  ear  like  the  voice  of  many 
waters.  What  meaneth  these  things?  The  appel¬ 
lant  to  reason  mounts  the  rostrum,  and  addresses  the 
multitude :  “  Men  of  Rome,  there  are  five  hundred 

nobility  among  you,  who  dash  through  your  streets 
with  the  utmost  splendor,  who  own  the  principal 
parts  of  your  city,  who  have  slaves  by  the  hundreds 
and  country  seats  equal  to  a  conquered  province. 
These  men  are  asking  you  for  protection.  They 
have  laid  a  tariff  upon  the  importation  of  corn  and 
salt,  the  products  of  their  plantations  and  their 
mines,  that  they  may  swell  their  already  inflated 
wealth  from  your  labors,  and  compel  you  all  to  serve 
them.  You  sir,  the  father  of  ten  children,  pay  as 
much  towards  the  support  of  government  as  the 


46  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

pampered,  who,  when  he  walks  the  streets,  sends  his 
slaves  to  clear  the  way  before  him.  You  sir,  who 
build  the  roads  of  the  republic,  pay  as  much  toward 
the  support  of  the  government,  as  your  tyrants,  who 
are  treading  upon  your  necks.  You  sir,  who  cultivate 
the  earth  that  your  oppressors  may  live ;  you  sir,  the 
mechanic,  who  build  their  splendid  villas — you,  all  of 
you,  pay  as  much  toward  the  support  of  government 
as  those  for  whom  your  lives  are  spent  in  labor,  who 
spend  their  own  lives  rioting  in  luxuries  and  super¬ 
fluities  wrung  by  their  laws,  from  your  necessities. 
Shall  these  things  be  ?”  concluded  the  orator.  The 
appellant  to  reason,  in  the  ninteenth  century  may 
well  ask — shall  these  things  be  ?  Are  the  millionaires 
and  manufacturers  among  us  in  favor  of  Protection  ? 
Those  who  have  the  wealth  and  take  the  offices,  have 
they  not  compelled  every  one  of  us  to  pay  tribute  to 

them  to  swell  the  millions  in  their  coffers?  Have 

• 

they  not  laid  a  tax  upon  every  article  of  wearing 
apparel  that  we  use?  Have  they  not  laid  a  tax 
upon  everything  that  they  produce  and  we  consume? 
And  don't  they  want  “  Protection  ”  to  sustain  their 
manufacturing  interests,  because  they  will  not  sus¬ 
tain  themselves?  Don’t  they  talk  loudly  about  jus¬ 
tice  and  equality  ? 

It  is,  indeed, sorrowful  to  realize  that  the  people  are 
contending  for  the  same  things  now  that  they  were 
three  thousand  years  ago  ;  that  in  the  mighty  warfare, 
in  which  we  have  engaged,  we  have  made  so  little 
progress.  But  a  glorious  dawn  is  breaking  upon  us. 
The  nations  across  the  water,  even  heathen  China 
and  Japan,  are  moving  onward  in  support  of  free 


THE  PANDOWDIES. 


47 


trade.  Let  all  who  are  not  bowed  down  with  sec¬ 
tional  prejudice  and  party  tyranny  rejoice  that  com¬ 
merce,  throughout  the  world,  shall  be  unshackled — 
shall  be  as  free  as  the  billows  that  bear  it,  and  the 
breezes  that  waft  it  on. 

Farmer  Roberts. — I  bid  you  be  of  good  cheer, 
my  brethren,  for  even  England  sends  you  greeting. 

In  1842,  under  the  operation  of  corn  laws  and  pro¬ 
tective  tariffs,  Great  Britain  had  been  brought  to  the 
last  stages  of  decay  and  penury,  so  that;  Sir  Robert 
Peel  was  forced  to  his  measures  of  repeal  and  revenue 
reform  by  that  menace  of  revolution  which  is  the  nat¬ 
ural  fruit  of  ruin,  starvation,  and  despair.  The  inter¬ 
ests  of  commerce,  of  agriculture,  and  of  manufactures 
were  equally  desperate,  and  even  the  most  sanguine 
economists  feared  that  the  overthrow  of  Protection^ 
finally  consummated  in  1846,  had  come  too  late  to 
save  a  moribund  commonwealth.  But  here  is  Mr. 
Gladstone,  in  a  speech  delivered  at  Wakefield,  in 
1871,  telling  us  the  wonderful  story  of  how  a  state 
may  be  rejuvenated  : 

“In  the  course  of  thirty  years  the  population  of 
England  has  increased  somewhere  about  twenty-five 
or  thirty  per  cent.,  while  the  trade  of  the  country  has 
increased  four  hundred  per  cent.  This  extraordinary 
result  is  due  also  wholly  to  the  effects  of  free  traded 

Since  i860,  say  a  dozen  rapid  and  momentous 
years,  the  United  States,  the  richest  and  most  rapid 
in  growth  of  all  countries,  has  made  no  progress 
whatsoever,  in  proportion  to  the  growth  of  popula¬ 
tion,  and  the  consequent  opening  up  of  the  country. 


48 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


Our  shipping  is  completely  ruined,  and  our  exports 
are  restricted  to  raw  material  entirely.  Our  agricul¬ 
tural  interests,  scarcely  kept  alive  by  the  constant 
opening  of  new  soils,  with  their  unparalleled  rich¬ 
ness  and  cheapness,  have  languished  under  a  burden 
of  taxation  that  has  no  equal,  except  that  which  de¬ 
stroyed  the  Roman  Empire  and  has  made  a  desert 
of  the  fertile  plains  of  Turkey.  Our  manufactures, 
unnaturally  stimulated  by  subsidies  and  tariffs  of  all 
sorts,  are  unable  to  stand  alone,  and  stagger  under 
the  unreasoning  patronage  of  those  who  claim  to  be 
their  best  friends.  These  things,  say  the  Protection¬ 
ists,  are  the  unavoidable  results  of  a  long  war  and  a 
heavy  debt.  But  the  elasticity  of  Great  Britain  has 
been  in  spite  of  a  much  heavier  debt,  and  of  many 
long  wars.  She  has  supported  a  debt  nearly  double 
ours ;  she  has  waged  long  and  bloody  and  costly 
wars  in  India,  in  Europe,  in  China,  at  the  Cape,  and 
in  Australasia;  and  she  has  constantly  maintained,  at 
home  and  abroad,  a  standing  army  of  from  300,000 
to  400,000  men.  Give  the  people  of  the  United 
States  a  free  field  for  development,  with  peace,  reve¬ 
nue  reform,  and  economy  and  honesty  in  govern¬ 
ment,  and  a  tax  of  five  per  cent,  upon  the  annual 
increase  on  our  material  wealth — upon  the  mere  sur¬ 
plusage  of  our  annual  profits — will  suffice  to  pay  the 
whole  national  debt  in  twenty  years. 

Matron  Gardner. — I  want  to  read  part  of  a  let¬ 
ter  from  my  eldest  daughter,  Jane,  who,  you  ah 
know,  was  the  best  scholar  at  Miss  Idoward’s  semi¬ 
nary.  She  was  back  to  the  old  home-place,  near  Bel¬ 
fast,  in  old  Maine,  some  time  ago,  and  went  down  to 


THE  PANDOWDIES. 


49 


the  ship-yards,  of  course.  She  pictures  the  contrast 
between  Belfast  as  it  was,  in  the  old  time,  and  when 
she  visited  it  last.  She  said  they  told  her  there  that 
the  change  was  brought  about  by  the  operation  of 
our  ruinous  tariff  laws.  Here’s  what  she  writes: 

“  Naturally  our  footsteps  turned  to  the  river  bank, 
memory  recalling  at  every  step  some  incident  con¬ 
nected  with  childhood  :  the  huge  white  heaps  of  freshly 
curled  shavings ;  the  clean,  new  chips ;  the  prettily 
turned  trenails  with  which  we  used  to  play ;  the  high, 
wide,  lumber  piles,  where  summer  hours  were  dreamed 
away  listening  to  the  strange  commingling  of  sounds 
that  came  borne  from  the  hum  of  busy  voices,  the 
ringing  blows  of  the  workmen,  the  singing  of  the  ad¬ 
jacent  brook,  and  the  idle  lap-lap  of  the  sea.  All 
these,  and  the  workshops  where  peeps  were  had  into 
the  mysterious  depths  of  the  brightly-colored  tool- 
chests  standing  in  long  rows  and  filled  to  the  brim 
with  polished,  shining,  keen-edged  chisels,  saws,  axes, 
files,  planes  and  gimlets.  What  a  change  had  come  over 
the  past  !  Shut  up  and  removed  all  the  pretty,  polished 
tools;  gone  the  active  workmen,  the  busy  voices  sup¬ 
pressed  ;  closed  and  unoccupied  the  various  shops; 
rusted,  blackened  and  decayed,  all  that  was  once 
bright,  fresh  and  new.  Only  the  sea  remained,  with 
its  eternal  whisperings  and  the  long,  black  poles  and 
ladders  standing ; 

O 

‘  Like  ghosts  upon  a  wailing  shore 

Reading  their  destiny.’  ” 

Bachelor  Bunce. — If  it  isn’t  out  of  place,  I  would 
like  to  ask  Matron  Gardner,  as  to  her  daughter’s  a ee 
at  this  time. 

Matron  Gardner. — It  is  not  for  such  as  you  to 
enquire  into  family  secrets.  [Laughter.] 


50 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


S.  M.  Smith,  a  master  farmer,  said  :  We  need 
only  point  to  the  facts  that  in  this  beneficent  country 
of  unlimited  resources,  with  the  land  annually  groan¬ 
ing  beneath  the  products  of  human  efforts,  the  mass 
of  the  people  have  no  supply  beyond  their  daily 
wants,  and  too  often  are  compelled  from  unjust  con-  - 
ditions,  in  sickness  and  misfortunes,  to  become  pati- 
pers  and  vagrants.  Slavery  has  been  abolished,  but 
the  rights  and  relations  of  labor  stand  just  where 
they  did  before  in  respect  to  the  division  of  its  pro¬ 
ducts.  Capital  is  master  and  dictates  the  terms,  and 
thus  we  are  all  practically  slaves,  our  masters  giving 
us  just  enough  to  enable  us  to  live  and  produce 
another  crop,  from  which  they  rob  us  as  before.  This 
ouoTt  to  teach  us  that  the  interest  of  all  labor  is  com- 
mon,  and  they  must  fight  the  battle  in  unity  if  they 
succeed.  The  reason  of  this  state  of  affairs  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  legislation  of  the  whole 
country  is  in  the  hands  and  under  the  supreme  con¬ 
trol  of  bankers,  stock  jobbers,  land  grabbers,  and 
professional  politicians,  to  the  almost  entire  exclusion 
of  those  who  produce  the  wealth  and  pay  the  taxes. 
To  correct  these  and  other  abuses  of  the  govern¬ 
ment,  must  be  the  purpose  of  our  organizations.  To 
do  this  we  must  not  ask  for  artificial  rights,  or  exclu¬ 
sive  privileges,  but  demand  protection  in  our  natural 
rights. 

Major  Harris. — That’s  it,  sir,  precisely.  The 
trouble  is  in  the  legislation  that  favors  capital  at  the 
cost  of  labor.  In  other  words  the  protective  system 
is  the  parent  evil.  The  government  functions  have 
been  used  for  the  last  dozen  years  to  array  one  in- 


THE  PANDOWDIES. 


5* 


terest  against  another  ;  to  favor  and  “  protect  ”  cap¬ 
ital  at  the  cost  of  labor.  We  have  allowed  ourselves 
to  be  misled  by  cheap  demagogues. 

Merchant  Boyd. — Our  brother  states  a  fact  known 
to  all  the  world,  when  he  says  that  the  legislation  of 
the  whole  country  is  under  the  control  of  persons 
who  seek  to  aggrandize  capital  at  the  expense  of  la¬ 
bor,  and  who  shape  all  legislation  to  that  end. 

Matron  Bolus. — And  these  are  the  men  whom 
you  call  “  leaders  of  the  people !”  Suppose  you 
work  them  awhile  in  the  rear  rank  ? 

Farmer  Churchill. — The  inevitable  effect  of  all 
“protective  laws”  is  to  make  the  rich  richer  and  the 
poor  poorer.  The  so-called  “protection  system  ”  is 
but  a  svstem  of  legislative  discrimination  in  favor  of 
capital  and  against  labor.  Look  at  the  “  interests” 
that  a  paternal  government  “protects”  in  this  free 
country,  by  its  tariff  laws,  its  special  charters,  shin- 
plaster  banking  acts,  and  its  other  modes  of  dis¬ 
criminative  class-legislation  !  Tell  me,  farmer  Jones, 
if  there  is  a  single  one  that  is  not  in  one  way  or  an¬ 
other,  in  the  interest  of  concentrated  capital.  An¬ 
swer  me,  ye  patient  Pandowdies,  if  each  and  all  of 
them  are  not  “interests”  in  which  capital  seeks  by 
arbitrary  interference  with  natural  rights,  to  establish 
by  fallacious  legislation,  an  inequality  of  privileges 
between  men  that  have  wealth  and  men  who  have 
not  ? 

Notary  Brown. — Good  again !  Our  brother 

o 

Smith  has  given  us  the  whole  platform  of  free  trade. 
“  We  must  not  ask  for  artificial  rights,  or  exclusive 
privileges,  but  demand  protection  in  natural  rights .” 


52 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


This  is  the  sure  ground  upon  which  the  right  will 
eventually  triumph,  and  I  move  that  the  words  be 
embodied  in  our  Declaration  of  Principles,  and  given 
a  place  in  the  Book  of  Ceres.  [It  was  so  ordered, 
by  a  unanimous  vote.] 

The  President. — I  desire  to  add  a  word  or  two 
to  those  so  ably  spoken  by  Pandowdy  Churchill. 
Whether  the  laws  he  mentioned  be  called  tariff  laws, 
subsidy  laws,  national  banking  acts,  or  special  charters, 
they  are  all  laws  to  establish  inequality  of  privileges, 
to  discriminate  in  favor  of  capital  at  the  cost  of  labor. 
Plere  is  a  statement  demonstrable  by  actual  facts. 
The  protective  tariff  law,  which  is  but  one  of  these 
discriminative  laws,  for  every  $200,000,000  of  reve- 
enue  derived  by  the  federal  treasury,  takes  from  the 
earnings  of  labor,  $300,000,000  and  transfers  it  with¬ 
out  any  equivalent,  to  the  earnings  of  capital.  The 
little  administration  paper  of  our  county,  which 
champions  this  iniquitous  robber-system,  asks — “  If 
this  be  so,  why  do  not  all  men  forsake  the  non-pro- 
tected  and  embark  in  the  protected  occupations?” 
This  is  twaddle.  Why  does  not  the  journeyman  me¬ 
chanic,  earning  by  a  week’s  hard  labor,  only  enough 
to  pay  for  what  he  and  his  family  must  consume  in  a 
week — why  don’t  he,  I  ask,  throw  down  his  tools  and 
set  up  a  factory  of  his  own,  whereby,  thanks  to  “  Pro¬ 
tection  ”  he  could  get  more  in  a  day,  than  as  a  jour¬ 
neyman,  he  could  get  in  a  week  ?  You  farmers  give 
three  bushels  of  corn  to  get  one  .bushel  to  market. 
Why  plant  and  plow,  when  by  going  into  the*railroad 
business,  you  can  get  three  bushels,  with  much  less 
labor?  The  trouble  is,  you  workers  belong  to  the 


THE  PANDOWDIES. 


53 


class  that  have  not ;  the  class  from  whom  the  rob¬ 
bery  system  says,  shall  be  taken  away  that  which  you 
have,  to  enrich  them  that  already  have  abundance. 

This  being  the  character  and  effect  of  the  monop¬ 
oly  system,  what  Pandowdy  can  deny  that  the  rela¬ 
tions  of  labor  to  capital,  are  the  same  that  they  were 
under  the  slavery  system  ?  Under  the  “  protection  ” 
or  slavery  system,  capital  is  master,  and  labor  is  slave. 
What  wonder  that  labor  should  demand  free  trade, 
which  signifies  emancipation  from  an  artificially  en¬ 
forced  slavery  to  capital  ? 

Matron  Marks. — We  matrons  and  maids,  are  in 
favor  of  a  revenue  tariff  of  twenty-five  per  cent.  A 
spool  of  thread  now  pays  a  duty  of  eighty-five  per 
cent.,  and  can  consequently  not  be  sold  at  wholesale 
for  less  than  six  cents ;  under  a  duty  of  twenty-five 
per  cent  it  could  be  furnished  at  four  cents.  Brussels 
carpeting  now  pays  a  duty  of  sixty-seven  and  three- 
fourths  per  cent.,  and  costs  $2.10  a  yard.  Under  a 
tax  of  twenty-five  per  cent.,  it  could  be  sold  for  $1.58 
— and  so  on,  through  the  chapter. 

A  Mechanic. — That  reminds  me  !  The  enemy  says 
the  taxes  on  articles  the  poor  man  consumes,  have 
been  made  as  light  as  possible,  and  the  highest  taxes 
have  been  put  on  luxuries.  Now,  if  the  taxes  were 
fairly  adjusted,  the  poor  man  could  have  luxuries  as 
well  as  the  rich.  I  am  under  the  impression  that  the 
poor  man  needs  for  his  comfort,  woolen  cloth,  cottons, 
shoes,  hats,  blankets,  iron,  etc.,  and  if  he  gets  sick, 
which  he  is  as  liable  to  as  the  rich,  he  wants  med¬ 
icines,  Now  let  us  see  how  the  tax  favors  the  poor 
man  and  “  puts  on  the  rich.”  On  woolens,  the  tax  is 


54 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


so  high  that  the  kinds  used  by  the  working  class,  can¬ 
not  be  imported,  but  on  the  finer  quality,  the  duty  is 
comparatively  small.  On  cottons  the  tax  is  from 
thirty-five  per  cent  to  fifty-two  per  cent.,  while  on 
silks  it  is  only  sixty  per  cent;  on  a  wool  hat  it  is  sev¬ 
enty  per  cent;  on  a  walking  cane  it  is  thirty-five  per 
cent;  on  blankets,  ninety  per  cent.;  on  shawls  costing 
$100  and  upwards,  it  is  thirty-five  per  cent,;  on  salt, 
it  is — or  was —  one  hundred  and  seven  per  cent,  on 
diamonds,  ten  per  cent;  on  spool  cotton,  eighty- 
five  per  cent,  on  sewing  silk,  only  forty  per 
cent  The  enemy  does  not  think  medicine  a  lux¬ 
ury,  but  when  a  poor  man  is  so  unfortunate  as  to 
need  it,  let  us  see  how  “  the  tax  favors  him.”  If  he 
wants  quinine  for  the  ague,  he  has  to  pay  a  tax  of 
fifty  per  cent,  while  the  manufacturer  of  it  gets  the 
bark  from  which  it  is  made,  free  of  tax,  and  pockets 
the  difference.  For  a  dose  of  castor  oil,  he  has  to 
pay  more  than  double  what  he  would,  if  it  were  not 
for  the  high  tax. 

The  President. — As  it  is  getting  late,  I  must  ask 
the  Pandowdy  to  finish  the  list  at  some  future  meet- 
ing. 

The  Mechanic. — Yes  sir,  it  would  take  a  month 
to  enumerate#//  the  instances  where  the  taxes“  are  put 
on  luxuries,  and  made  as  light  as  possible  on  articles 
used  by  the  poor  man  ”(?)  [Laughter.]  The  hands 
employed  in  the  manufactories  of  England,  are  bet¬ 
ter  off  to-day  than  our  own,  for  their  wages  will  pro¬ 
cure  them  more  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  than  the 
wages  of  our  mechanics  will  buy  here.  Notwithstand¬ 
ing  the  wages  here  are  nominally  higher,  hundreds 


THE  PANDOWDIES.  55 

who  came  here  to  better  their  condition,  have  returned 
to  England. 

Merchant  Maple. — Before  we  adjourn,  I  would 
like  to  follow  the  mechanic  with  a  few  words  about 
the  cost  of  a  hat:  Mr.  David  A.  Wells,  in  his  ex¬ 
posure  of  the  abuse  of  taxation,  which  it  is  the  aim 
of  the  friends  of  revenue  to  correct,  explains  why  the 
hat  business  does  not  flourish  in  the  United  States, 
and  why  the  people  pay  more  for  hats  than  the  people 
of  any  other  country.  He  states  that  previous  to 
1850,  the  United  States  made  cheaper  and  better 
hats  than  could  be  made  anywhere  else,  and  we  ex¬ 
ported  one-seventh  of  our  product.  We  had  invented 
and  patented  a  machine  which  formed  and  shaped 
the  hat  almost  automatically.  The  present  condition 
of  the  hat  business  is  reversed.  Novia  Scotia,  the 
West  Indies,  Australia,  and  other  places  which  for¬ 
merly  bought  our  hats,  now  buy  elsewhere.  The 
price  of  hats  has  so  increased  that  the  American 
people  wear  fewer  than  ever  before,  the  business  has 
ceased  to  be  prosperous,  and  of  late  years  many 
manufacturers  have  failed.  The  cause  is  plain.  The 
body  of  the  hat  is  composed  of  fur  or  wool,  separate 
or  mixed.  We  import  coney  from  Germany  ;  and 
this  pays  a  tax,  if  on  the  skin,  io  per  cent.,  if  cut 
from  the  skin,  20  per  cent.  The  difference  in  the  tax 
is  for  the  benefit  of  one  very  prominent  firm  that 
cuts  hatters'  fur.  They  have  a  machine  that  does  the 
work  with  little  manual  labor.  That  machine,  though 
not  patented,  is  secret,  and  for  the  exclusive  benefit 
of  its  owners,  a  special  tax  of  10  per  cent,  is  levied 
on  all  fur  used  in  hat  making  in  the  United  States. 

4 


56 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


If  wool  be  used  Instead  of  hair,  the  most  desirable 
kind  is  that  grown  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  be¬ 
cause  of  its  peculiar  felting  quality,  and  on  this  wool 
the  manufacturer  pays  a  duty  of  ioo  per  cent.;  the 
silk  lining,  60  per  cent.;  the  silk  ribbon  on  the  out¬ 
side  is  taxed  65  per  cent.;  the  inside  leather,  “sweat- 
band,”  45  per  cent.;  while  the  hat  itself,  if  made  in 
Europe,  where  the  manufacturer  pays  none  of  those 
taxes,  is  admitted  at  35  per  cent.,  if  made  of  fur,  and 
if  made  of  wool,  at  from  20  to  50  cents  per  pound, 
and  35  per  cent,  of  its  value. 

The  hat  business  is  taxed  to  death.  That  once 
large  and  flourishing  branch  of  manufacture  is  taxed 
out  of  existence  in  order  to  “  protect”  the  owners  of 
a  knife,  the  grower  of  a  distinct,  and,  for  the  hat  busi¬ 
ness,  a  useless  variety  of  wool,  the  manufacturer  of  an 
imitation  ribbon,  and  some  supposed  American  labor 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  leather.  To  make 
American  hats  that  will  compete  with  the  European 
in  price,  the  wages  of  the  hatter  have  to  be  reduced, 
in  order  to  offset  the  taxes  which  the  American 
manufacturer  has  to  pay  on  the  raw  material. 

Mr.  Field,  of  the  Frost  Manufacturing  Company, 
said  :  It  is  a  historical  fact  that  manufacturers  have 
always  —  even  from  colonial  existence,  and  without 
regard  to  protective  laws — kept  pace  with  the  gene¬ 
ral  development  of  the  country.  We  manufacture 
less  of  some  articles  than  we  use,  while  we  manufac¬ 
ture  an  excess  of  others.  The  surplus  of  one  sort  is 
exported,  and  the  proceeds  invested  in  those  things  of 
which  there  is  a  scarcity.  It  is  precisely  the  same  as 
regards  the  productions  of  the  soil :  we  have  a  large 


THE  PANDOWDIES.  57 

surplus  of  some  products,  as  grain,  cotton,  rice,  etc., 
etc.,  while  we  are  obliged  to  import  sugar,  tea,  coffee, 
and  many  other  articles.  What  we  should  do,  as  a 
nation,  would  be  to  engage  only  in  those  pursuits 
which  will  pay,  and  have  nothing  to  do  with  those 
that  require  a  bounty  from  other  interests  to  make 
them  profitable.  If  we  can  raise  corn  and  cotton 
cheaper  than  we  can  manfacture  iron  and  broadcloth, 
lets  do  so,  and,  like  sensible  people,  exchange  our 
surplus  for  what  we  most  need.  We  now  manufac¬ 
ture  more  than  four-fifths  of  all  the  fabrics  we  use, 
but  the  protectionists  would  have  all  this  and  every 
other  industry  taxed  for  the  sake  of  forcing  the  man¬ 
ufacture  of  the  other  less  than  one-fifth.  In  an  eco¬ 
nomical  sense  this  is  the  foolishest  sort  of  folly. 

Western  manufactures  extend  and  prosper,  not 
only  without  government  aid,  but  in  spite  of  enor¬ 
mous  burdens  imposed  by  the  government.  There¬ 
fore  those  who  would  hasten  the  extension  of  such 

r 

legitimate  manufactures  as  properly  belong  to  us, 
should  demand  the  entire  removal  of  all  legislative 
restrictions. 

Judge  Dieterich. — We  should  not  lose  sight  of 
the  fact,  that  a  civil  polity,  like  the  steam  engine  ’or 
telegraph,  is  but  a  convenient  mechanism.  The  notion 
of  its  paternal  authority  and  divine  ordainment,  is 
fast  passing,  with  the  jus  divinam  of  kings,  into  mer¬ 
ited  oblivion.  Government  is,  in  its  very  purpose,  a 
restraint.  It  is  the  organized  power  of  the  many 
brought  in  opposition  to  the  depredations  of  the  few. 
It  is  force  called  forth  to  counteract  force,  and  like 
all  other  “self-defence,”  it  is,  at  best,  but  a  choice  of 


58 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


evils.  It  is  a  contrivance  not  in  the  phrase  of  Black- 
stone,  for  the  “  commanding  what  is  right,”  but  for  the 
“prohibiting  what  is  wrong.”  Does  it  have  its  origin 
in  an  unfortunate  necessity?  To  necessity,  then,  let 
its  restricrions  be  limited.  Is  it  designed  to  check 
the  violent?  To  the  violent  alone  let  its  penalties 
be  applied.  Every  exercise  of  power  beyond  this  is 
a  wanton  violation  of  right — as  much  so  in  a  popular 
assembly  as  in  a  peerless  autocrat.  Mankind  is  slow 
to  learn  that  the  world  is  too  much  governed.  Even 
in  our  own  wise  and  happy  system,  we  have  not  dis¬ 
tinguished,  with  sufficient  watchfulness,  the  legiti¬ 
mate  boundaries  of  government  action.  A  pure 
democracy  does  not  consist  in  the  unquestioned 
might  of  a  majority,  but  in  the  protected  right  of  all. 
The  majority  must  rule,  of  course,  but  not  with  a  rod 
of  iron.  The  true  object  of  a  popular  government 
should  be  “the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number,” 
and  this  greatest,,  widest  welfare  is  secured  only  by 
carefully  restricting  the  sway  of  the  many  to  that 
particular  range  of  exercise  which  is  neccessary  for  the 
safety  of  the  whole. 

The  President. — As  the  Pandowdies  are  begin- 
to  scatter  some,  perhaps  the  club  had  better  adjourn. 
Ah!  Matron  Pease! 

Matron  Pease. — I  aint  as  learned  as  the  Judge, 
but  I  know  some  things  as  well  as  other  people. 
The  postmasters  daughter  says  that  weak  women 
have  no  business  in  a  farmers  club. 

‘  Weak  women  ’  indeed  ! 

By  what  laws  of  comparison  do  we  infer  that  a 
woman  who  can  stand  at  the  ironing  table  ten  hours 

O 


THE  PANDOWDIES. 


59 


a  day,  with  the  thermometer  at  ninety-eight  degrees 
in  the  shade,  her  stove  on  full  draught,  and  the  windows 
closed,  lest  the  irons  cool,  cannot  practice  the  stone¬ 
mason’s  trade  for  lack  of  physical  strength  ? 

Ought  not  any  woman  who  is  able  to  be  her  own 
nursery-maid  to  be  able  to  harness  a  horse  ? 

If  field  work  is  more  exhaustive  to  the  system 
than  house  and  dairy  work,  why  is  it  said  that  two- 
thirds  of  the  women  in  our  insane  asylums  are  farm¬ 
ers’  wives  ? 

How  does  it  happen  that  a  woman  has  not  the 
“physical  strength”  to  follow  the  carpenter’s  trade, 
who  is  able  to  take  in  washing  for  a  living  ? 

How  much  more  muscle  is  needed  for  lifting  lad¬ 
ders  and  adjusting  joists,  and  striking  nails,  than  for 
wringing  blankets  and  scrubbing  overalls  ? 

Did  it  ever  occur  to  you  that  the  woman  who  can 
sweep  a  room,  can  drive  an  omnibus  ?  That  the 
dust  she  takes  into  her  lungs,  on  Saturday,  may  pos¬ 
sibly  be  as  injurious  to  them  as  the  oversight  and 
lifting  of  trunks  which  would  fall  to  her  in  the  char¬ 
acter  of  a  baggage-master  ? 

What  is  to  prevent  the  woman  who  can  faultlessly 
superintend  the  “house-cleaning”  of  a  large  estab- 
lisment  from  qualifying  herself  to  be  an  “  able  and 
lady-like  ”  railroad  conductor,  or  a  clerk  in  the  post- 
office  ?  The  postmaster  don’t  like  farmer’s  clubs, 
which  annoys  our  organization  very  much  indeed. 

Postmasters  seem  to  have  it  very  bad  all  over  the 
country.  [Applause.] 

Adjourned. 


ECONOMIC  PROGRESS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Bias  of  Published  Works  on  Political  Economy _ Borrowing  from  English 

Authors . The  Victims  of  “Protection” _ Looking  to  Papa  Government _ 

The  Manufacturing  Aristocracy A  Clamor  for  Protection The  Protectire 

Principle  Worsted  in  1844 _ The  Home  Market _ The  Great  Problem _ 

Object  of  Labor _ Monopolizing  the  Results  of  Labor. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  nearly  all  the  books 
published  in  the  United  States  upon  Political  Econ¬ 
omy,  or  its  several  branches  and  collateral  issues,  are 
on  the  monarchical  side  of  the  question,  inculcating 
individual  dependence  upon  government  aid  in  all  the 
active  pursuits  of  life.  A  large  majority  are  by  mere 
theorists,  who  have  apparently  imbibed  a  superficial 
notion  of  the  subject  they  attempt  to  handle,  from  Eng¬ 
lish  authors,  and  this  dependence  upon  English  ideas 
is  a  lingering  remnant  of  our  colonial  condition. 
Happily,  however,  the  nature  of  our  institutions,  the 
circumstances  attending  the  first  settlements  of  the 
country,  the  character  of  the  people  and  of  their  re¬ 
lations  through  a  long  colonial  servitude  to  the  moth- 
er  country,  all  conspired  to  foster  a  determined  self- 
reliant  independence.  This  was  entirely  at  variance 
with  the  theory  of  government  supervision  of  indi¬ 
vidual  concerns,  The  great  evil  which  besets  the 
people  of  Europe  at  this  moment  exists  in  the  fact 

60 


ECONOMIC  PROGRESS. 


6 1 


that  the  centralization  of  the  government  has  been 
carried  to  such  perfection  that  the  chief  executive 
interferes  with  the  most  minute  transactions  of  vil¬ 
lage  economy.  In  Europe,  all  the  enterprise  of  the 
people  receives  its  impulse  from  the  central  head. 
Those  few  and  unimportant  branches  of  industry 
which  the  government  can  “  protect”  by  conferring 
monopolies  maintain  a  sickly  existence,  without  en¬ 
ergy  and  without  progress.  Those  occupations,  which 
embrace  four-fifths  of  the  people,  and  for  which  gov¬ 
ernment  can  do  nothing,  but  which  are  the  victims 
of  the  “  protection  ”  granted  to  others,  languish  in 
hopeless  misery.  The  large  majority  of  the  agricul¬ 
turists  of  France,  and  many  of  those  of  the  British 
Islands,  used,  until  recently,  implements  that  were 
common  to  the  Romans.  There  has  been  little  or 
no  progress,  and  chiefly  because  the  theory  and  prac¬ 
tice  of  the  governments  have  been  guided  by  the 
“protective”  principle.  From  the  earliest  settlement 
of  the  United  States,  the  principle  of  “association” 
has  been  the  means  of  progress.  It  has  overcome 
the  greatest  difficulties  and  attained  the  most  sur¬ 
prising  physical  and  moral  results.  While  in  Amer¬ 
ica  few  think  of  requiring  the  government  to  under¬ 
take  individual  business,  in  Europe  none  think  of  any 
other  means  of  attaining  a  desired  object.  De 
Tocqueville  gives  an  instance  of  this  difference: 

“The  first  time  I  heard  in  the  United  States  that 
a  hundred  thousand  men  had  bound  themselves  pub¬ 
licly  to  abstain  from  spirituous  liquors,  it  appeared  to 
me  more  like  a  joke  than  a  serious  engagement ;  and 
I  did  not  at  once  perceive  why  these  temperate  cit- 


62 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


izens  could  not  content  themselves  with  drinking* 

o 

water  by  their  own  firesides.  I  at  last  understood 
that  these  hundred  thousand  Americans,  alarmed  by 
the  progress  of  drunkenness  around  them,  had  made 
up  their  minds  to  patronize  temperance.  They  acted 
just  in  the  same  way  as  a  man  of  high  rank  who 
should  dress  very  plainly,  in  order  to  inspire  the 
humbler  orders  with  a  contempt  of  luxury.  It  is 
probable,  that  if  these  hundred  thousand  men  had 
lived  in  France ,  each  of  them  would  singly  have  memo¬ 
rialized  the  government  to  watch  the  public  houses  all 
over  the  kingdom” 

This  idea  of  looking  to  Papa  government,  is  the 
ground  work  of  the  protective  system,  apd  that  sys¬ 
tem  carried  out  to  its  extent  would  inevitably  throw 
into  the  hands  of  government,  all  the  business  of  the 
country.  The  existence  of  this  strong  individuality 
among  our  people,  has  preserved  them  against  the 
influence  of  that  manufacturing  aristocracy  which 
was  called  into  existence  by  the  war  of  1812,  and 
was  one  of  the  lasting  evils  of  that  war.  The  op¬ 
pression  which  the  colonies  suffered  from  the  mother- 
country  for  long  ages,  produced  too  strong  a  feeling 
among  the  colonists  adverse  to  the  protective  system, 
of  which  they  were  too  evidently  the  victims,  for 
them  to  be  cajoled  into  the  idea,  that  it  was  doing 
them  good.  Hence,  on  the  first  emancipation  of  the 
states,  free  trade  was  the  rule,  and  the  commerce  of 
the  country  increased,  while  its  capital  multiplied  in 
proportion.  Manufactures  were  also  coming  into 
existence,  under  the  operations  of  increasing  demand 
resulting  from  agricultural  prosperity,  based  upon  a 


ECONOMIC  PROGRESS. 


63 


large  export  trade.  Before,  however,  these  manufac¬ 
tures  reached  a  point  which  would  supply  the  de¬ 
mand,  the  war  supervened,  and  by  cutting  off  foreign 
supplies,  produced  “  war  prices  ”  fo.r  most  manufac¬ 
tured  articles.  It  followed  that  the  capital  of  com¬ 
merce,  turned  from  its  usual  channel,  was  embarked 
in  manufactures  called  into  existence  in  an  unusual 
manner.  On  the  return  of  peace,  the  influx  of  for¬ 
eign  goods  competed  severely  with  those  home-made 
articles,  and  the  class  interested  in  them,  clamored  for 
protection.  It  required  the  enactment  of  five  tariffs 
and  the  lapse  of  more  than  thirty  years,  to  do  away 
with  the  evil  influence  of  the  protection  then  ac¬ 
corded.  The  manufacturing  interest  became  active 
and  persevering  in  its  endeavors  to  perpetuate  its 
privileges,  and  skillfully  made  use  of  the  national 
feelings  aroused  by  the  war,  to  urge  the  protection  of 
“home  manufacture”  against  the  British,  and  has 
succeeded  by  its  means  in  building  up  a  great  and 
powerful  monied  aristocracy.  All  the  writers  upon 
this  subject  have,  as  we  have  said,  espoused  the  cause 
of  this  aristocracy.  It  is  always  easier  to  fall  in  with, 
and  flatter  popular  prejudices  once  excited,  than  pa¬ 
tiently  to  investigate  and  develope  a  great  principle 
from  the  clouds  of  ill-considered  theories  by  which  it 
may  be  enveloped.  Whenever  sound  and  practical 
men  have  treated  the  subject,  a  flood  of  light  has  been 
poured  upon  the  operation  of  free  trade. 

The  great  mass  of  the  people  finally  resisted  the 
claims  of  the  manufacturers.  For  a  long  time,  the 
protective  principle  triumphed,  but  was  finally  brought 
to  a  direct  issue  and  worsted  in  1844. 


64 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


D  uring  thirty  years  protective  duties  were  imposed, 
and  the  manufacturers  having  the  advantage  of  pos¬ 
session,  declared  that  national  ruin  would  follow  a 
change  of  policy  and  a  reduction  of  rates.  The  ad¬ 
vocates  of  free  trade  were  confident  that  one  trial  of 
low  duties  would  set  the  matter  at  rest.  In  Decem¬ 
ber,  1846,  their  tariff  came  into  operation,  and  in  two 
years,  amid  the  adverse  circumstances  of  a  foreign 
war  and  political  revolutions  in  Europe,  it  so  vindicat¬ 
ed  itself  as  to  be  impregnable.  Even  manufacturers 
had  reached  a  point  where  change  would  have  been 
their  ruin,  and  the  weight  of  their  influence  went 
against  a  change. 

There  is  no  branch  of  the  protective  theory  more 
insisted  upon  by  its  advocates  than  the  “  home  mar. 
kets  ”  which  manufacturers  build  up  for  farm  products. 
In  relation  to  this  Barhydt  remarks: 

It  is  assumed  by  the  friends  of  protection — who 
would  build  up  factories  because  they  believe  the  de¬ 
gree  of  intelligence  among  a  manufacturing  popula¬ 
tion  would  be  higher  than  that  of  an  agricultural ! — ■ 
that  with  the  increase  of  the  manufactures,  nuclei  of 
factories  and  manufacturing  towns  would  be  formed 
throughout  the  country,  whereat  neighboring  farmers 
would  find  markets  for  their  products,  and  receive 
commodities  in  exchange,  with  a  saving  to  both  par¬ 
ties  of  transportation.  In  order  that  the  advantages 
assumed  as  contingent  upon  this  state  of  things,  sup¬ 
posing  it  to  be  attained,  should  be  reaped,  it  would 
be  necessary  that  the  farms  should  remain  as  before, 
of  small  size,  and  disposed  among  a  great  number  of 
proprietors.  Such  would  not  be  the  case.  With  the 
growth  of  the  manufacturing  town,  the  numerous 


ECONOMIC  PROGRESS. 


65 


small  farms  about  them  would  consolidate  into  a  few 
larcre  ones.  The  small  tracts  of  land  would  be  grad- 

<5  o 

ually  thrown  up  by  their  occupants,  who  would  seek 
in  the  promising  business  of  the  towns  those  pursuits 
that  would  at  first  offer  better  apparent  opportunities 
for  improving  their  fortunes.  As  they  were  thrown  up, 
they  would  be  gathered  into  the  hands  of  a  fewer  num¬ 
ber  of  proprietors.  No  moral  improvement  would  be 
experienced  by  those  who  changed  country  for  town ; 
and  certainly  no  physical,  in  exchanging  free  play  of 
muscle,  with  sunlight  and  pure  air  playing  about 
them,  for  toiling  within  brick  walls,  imprisoned  in 
cramped  positions,  to  grow  old  in  their  early  years. 
The  change  from  small  to  large  proprietorships  in 
turning  several  small  farms  into  a  large  one,  would 
diminish  the  effective  production  in  proportion  to  la¬ 
bor,  which  in  agriculture  is  greatest  when  the  propri¬ 
etor  says  to  his  workmen,  “  come  to  the  field,”  and 
smallest  when  he  says,  “  go  to  the  fields.”  Personal 
superintendence  and  the  sense  of  ownership  cannot 
be  sacrificed  without  loss.  In  England,  the  propor¬ 
tion  of  small  farms  is  much  less  than  it  was  two  and 
a  half  and  three  centuries  ago,  while  her  large  man¬ 
ufacturing  towns  have  absorbed  the  population.  The 
example  of  that  country  is  before  us  to  avoid,  not  to 
imitate  in  any  of  its  forms  of  protection  and  monop¬ 
oly.” 

It  is  inevitably  the  case,  that  a  community  under 
the  influence  of  protected  manufactures,  becomes  aris¬ 
tocratic  in  the  structure  of  its  society.  It  is  not  worth 
while  to  point  to  the  diminishing  population  of  the 
agricultural  counties  of  England,  whence  numbers 
migrate  to  swell  the  misery,  crime  and  turbulence  of 
the  manufacturing  towns.  We  can  see  in  the  opera¬ 
tion  of  active  causes  in  New  England  that  the  same 


66 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


state  of  things  is  being  apparently  produced  in  those 
regions.  Before  the  construction  of  the  Erie  canal, 
and  the  railroads  ;  before  the  protective  system  took 
root,  and  when  Boston  capitalists  were  free-traders 
under  the  able  expositions  of  Daniel(  Webster,  the 
prosperity  of  the  New  England  farmers  was  great. 
In  common  with  farmers  of  the  valleys  of  the  Con¬ 
necticut  and  the  Hudson,  they  supplied  the  old  world 
with  produce  at  fair  prices.  On  the  establishment  of 
the  protective  system,  the  former  lost  their  markets 
and  became  gradually  impoverished.  Their  children 
from  the  position  of  substantial  farmers,  supplied  the 
labor  market.  In  the  towns,  as  the  avenues  for  west¬ 
ern  competition  opened,  the  prices  of  produce  fell, 
and  farmers  who  could  emigrate,  removed  to  more 
favored  regions?  While  the  misery  and  poverty  of 
those  who  remained,  who  continued  to  overcharge  the 
labor  market,  and  rates  of  wages  fell.  Mill  owners 
hitherto  endeavored  to  ascribe  the  evil  to  the  tariff ; 
but  the  fact  was  evident,  that  the  supply  of  labor  in¬ 
creased  from  the  decay  of  New  England’s  agricultu¬ 
ral  interest,  while  improved  machinery  enabled  own¬ 
ers  to  make  more  cloth  with  a  less  number  of  hands. 

The  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  poorer 
classes;  that  is,  the  more  general  distribution  among 
them  of  the  products  of  industry  is  the  great  prob¬ 
lem  in  the  solution  of  which  the  ablest  heads  and 
warmest  hearts  of  Christendom  are  now  engaged. 
The  humblest  reader  must  see  that  freedom  of  ex¬ 
change  is  adapted  to  the  promotion  of  this  great  re¬ 
sult,  and  that  restriction  operates  against  its  attain¬ 
ment.  Nothing  could  be  more  ridiculous  than  the 

o 


ECONOMIC  PROGRESS. 


6  7 


oft-repeated  objection  to  free-trade,  that  low  tariffs 
encourage  importations  to  excess  until  we  become 
largely  indebted  to  other  countries,  and  have  to  pay 
in  specie,  followed  by  a  thousand  and  one  bug-bears, 
that  furnish  excuses  for  loud  calls  for  restriction,  that 
trade  may  be  confined  within  the  limits  of  good  be¬ 
havior.  As  if  trade  was  a  madman  that  must  be  put 
into  a  straight  jacket  to  force  submission  to  certain 
conventional  rules  and  regulations.  Let  us  suppose 
that  for  a  long  term  of  years  no  such  thing  as  a  tariff 
existed ;  no  person  can  possibly  believe  that  trade 
would  not  regulate  itself  by  the  law  of  supply  and 
demand.  Because,  indeed  !  that  a  tax  to  enhance  the 
values  of  certain  commodities  did  not  exist,  there¬ 
fore,  heedless  of  the  limits  of  demand,  individuals 
would  be  found  so  insane,  as  to  periodically  ruin 
themselves,  by  furnishing  to  the  community,  uncalled 
for  supplies.  It  must  be  evident  on  the  contrary,  that 
the  values  and  prices  being  less,  more  would  be  con¬ 
sumed  ;  that,  as  when  prices  were  higher,  the  supply 
would  be  furnished  to  meet  the  consumption,  and  no 
further. 

No  man  labors  without  an  object.  All  desire  some 
comforts  and  means  for  which  they  give  their  labor 
and  skill.  To  attain  those  objects,  or  the  largest  por¬ 
tion  of  them,  for  the  smallest  amount  of  labor,  it  is 
necessary  that  all  should  enjoy  the  most  perfect  free¬ 
dom  in  exchange.  We  hear  much  of  “  the  right  to 
labor,”  which  is  little  more  than  an  unmeaning  catch¬ 
word  of  dem^gogueism.  No  man  ever  endeavored 
to  hinder  any  labor ;  the  whole  effort  has  been  through 
class-legislation,  to  make  the  many  work  for  the  few. 


68 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


But  the  opposition  has  always  been  to  giving  labor 
its  just  rewards.  Those  corporate  factories,  owned 
by  millionaires,  lolling  on  cushions  of  down,  are  said 
to  “  employ”  labor.  So  they  do,  so  long  as  they  mo¬ 
nopolize  the  larger  portion  of  its  results.  When  it 
is  proposed  that  agricultural  labor  should  exchange 
its  products  in  any  market  that  will  yield  the  great¬ 
est  returns,  a  voice  from  cushions  of  down  and  silken 
curtains  goes  up  to  Papa  Congress,  urging  that  labor 
should  buy  only  at  the  corporate  factories,  which  will 
yield  only  half  the  return.  Congress  complies,  and 
new  Wilton  carpets  deck  the  saloons,  while  fewer  car¬ 
pets  manifest  themselves  in  the  cottage.  The  only 
way  to  ensure  to  labor  its  just  reward,  is  to  remove 
from  it  all  the  charges  that  are  laid  on  its  own  pro¬ 
ductions,  whether  imposed  upon  what  it  receives  in 
exchange  for  the  support  of  government,  or  for  sus¬ 
taining  any  description  of  state  policy,  no  matter  by 
what  plausible  theory  that  policy  may  be  vindicated. 
The  expense  of  transporting  produce  to  market,  and 
of  its  proceeds  in  return,  will  always  be  regulated  by 
the  unerring  law  of  trade,  when  left  to  unrestrained 
individual  enterprise.  Those  arbitrary  impositions 
that  are  governed  by  no  law  save  the  cupidity  of  the 
recipients,  are  they  which  must  be  abolished. 


THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE. 


69 


THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

It  Congratulates  the  Leading  Press - Advantage  of  Free  Passes  to  Railways 

_ An  Anti-Monopoly  Party _ A  Gubernatorial  Deadhead _ A  Railroad 

Game _ The  New  Illinois  Tariff _ No  Cure  for  the  Disease _ An  Idiotic 

Philosophy _ Matron  Clay  on  the  Key-Note - The  Work  before  us _ Be¬ 
ginning  the  Reform  at  Home _ From  Minnesota  and  Iowa _ The  Boys  at 

Clifton...  Catdhing  a  Spy. 

“Liberal  Grange,  No.  1200,”  met  in  “Farmer’s 
Hall,”  on  Monday  morning  last,  in  response  to  an 
official  call  privately  circulated  by  a  committee  com¬ 
posed  of  brethren  of  the  “  Seventh  Degree.”  Dele¬ 
gates  were  present  from  nearly  all  the  states,  the 
Northwest  being  largely  in  the  majority.  The  Grange 
met  in  executive  session  on  the  State  of  the  Order, 
which  the  author  deems  a  sufficient  explanation  for 
limiting  his  report  to  a  brief  mention  of  the  various 
topics  that  came  up  for  discussion  : 

Mr.  James,  of  Bureau  Co.,  Illinois,  said,  that  evi¬ 
dence  rapidly  accumulating,  went  to  show  that  the 
abolition  of  the  free  pass  system,  was  not  likely  to 
prove  a  success. 

Mr.  Robins,  of  Indiana.  Because  the  benefits  of 
issuing  free  passes  are  all  on  the  side  of  the  roads. 
The  road  that  issues  them  has  an  advantage  over  the 
road  that  does  not. 

71 


72 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


Mr.  Martin. — Yes,  sir,  I  notice  that  the  various 
lines  are  watching  each  other  with  the  utmost  vigil- 
ance,  for  fear  that  some  of  them  may  weaken  at  the 
knees. 

Mr.  Arthur,  of  St.  Louis,  thought  we  ought  to 
congratulate  the  leading  press,  for  in  refusing  passes, 
it  is  sustaining  its  own  dignity  and  increasing  its  rev¬ 
enues.  The  railway  lines  are  the  only  parties  at  all 
injured  by  this  abolition.  Heretofore,  these  arrogant 
corporations  purchased  the  influence  of  the  press  with 
a  bit  of  pasteboard.  Their  time-tables  were  advertised, 
their  annual  statements  published,  and  their  faults 
glossed  over,  all  for  the  petty  privilege  of  a  free  ride. 
The  emancipation  of  the  press  from  this  humiliating 
tyranny, cannot  fail  to  prove  a  damage  to  the  railways. 

Mr.  James. — Exactly.  It  is  to  the  disadvantage  of 
the  railways  to  abolish  passes.  Every  time  they  get 
a  respectable  newspaper  to  accept  a  pass,  they  receive 
dollars  in  a  trade  where  they  invest  only  cents.  The 
more  passes  they  can  issue  to  newspapers,  cheap 
judges  and  small  legislators,  the  better  for  themselves. 
If  a  free  pass  will  bring  freight,  they  should  issue  it, 
just  as  they  should  use  a  greenback  for  the  same  pur¬ 
pose.  I  second  brother  Arthurs  suggestion,  we  ought 
to  thank  the  leading  press.  The  roads  have  made  a 
mistake  in  thinking  that  they  granted  favors  in  issu¬ 
ing  passes.  Some  of  them  are  discovering,  that  the 
issuing  of  passes  was  an  excellent  business  invest¬ 
ment,  and  not,  as  they  supposed,  a  mere  contribution 
to  corporative  courtesy.  Some  have  now  stopped  the 
free  pass  business,  others  are  sorry  they  agreed  to  tie 
themselves  up.  However  they  may  settle  it,  the  re- 


THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE. 


73 


fusal  of  the  press  to  receive  them,  will  injure  the  roads, 
and  benefit  it  in  the  matter  of  income,  dignity  and 
independence.  Long  live  the  anti-free-pass  press  ! 

[Voices:  Amen!  Amen!] 

Mr.  C ratty, of  Peoria  Co.,  Illinois.  The  republican 
party  professes  to  be  an  anti-monopoly  party,  opposed 
to  class-legislation  of  all  kinds.  Especially  does  it 
oppose  the  deadhead  swindles,  which  the  brethren 
have  been  discussing.  I  noticed  a  sample  of  the  con¬ 
sistency  of  this  party  last  week,  while  on  the  train 
from  Tuscola  to  Champaign.  Gov.  Beveridge  got 
on  at  Tolono;  when  the  conductor  came  round,  Bev¬ 
eridge  very  promptly  presented  a  free  pass,  and  was 
passed  through  to  Champaign.  I  fail  to  see  how  Gov. 
Beveridge  or  any  other  public  officer  can  have  the 
cheek  to  deadhead  it  through  the  country  on  a  free 
pass  under  the  existing  state  of  affairs.  Such  impu¬ 
dence  is  enough  to  shock  the  devil.  Is  the  great 
state  of  Illinois  such  a  pauper  that  she  cannot  pay 
her  governor  a  large  enough  salary  to  enable  him  to 
pay  his  railroad  fare,  when  he  goes  on  business  in  the 
interest  of  the  people ;  or  does  the  governor  belong 
to  that  class  of  salary  thieves  and  Credit  Mobilier 
bribe-takers,  and  therefore  devoid  of  honor,  honesty, 
or  anything  else  that  should  be  the  distinguishing 
mark  of  a  true  statesman.  The  truth  of  the  matter 
is,  that  the  republican  party  is  just  now  made  up  of 
thieves,  bribe-takers,  and  monopolists,  and  we  need 
not  expect  anything  from  their  pretensions.  Gov. 
Beveridge  is  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  party,  and  we 
are  not  at  all  surprised  to  see  that  he  is  a  bribe-taker 
and  accepts  a  bribe  from  a  railway  company  in  the 
form  of  a  free  railroad  pass. 


74 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


Farmer  Parks. — I  am  told  the  roads  are  playing 
a  little  game  so  as  to  make  the  attempted  legislation 
against  their  “  vested  rights  ”  odious  to  the  public.  In 
undertaking  this  thing  they  may  only  succeed  in  mak¬ 
ing  themselves  odious  to  a  hard-working,  tax-ridden, 
sorely  oppressed  class  of  people. 

Farmer  Chambers. — I  live  in  Morgan  county,  in 
Illi  nois.  This  is  the  greatest  stock-raising  county  in 
the  state,  and  the  farmers  have  heretofore  enjoyed 
the  benefit  of  competition  to  Chicago.  The  old  rate 
for  stock  was  $25  per  car  to  Chicago,  but  under  the 
new  law  it  is  $37.74.  The  result  is  a  falling  off  in 
business  over  the  lines  leading  to  Chicago.  Some  of 
them  have  “  retired  ”  locomotives  by  the  dozen.  Our 
people,  that  is  the  stock  men,  are  doing  better  by 
shipping  direct  to  New  York  over  the  T.  W.  &  W. 
Railroad.  They  see  no  justice  in  a  law  which  de¬ 
prives  them  of  competition,  while  it  does  no  good  to 
those  who  must  ship  from  non-competing  points  at 
the  old  rates. 

Mr.  Norcross,  of  Nebraska,  was  satisfied  that  the 
new  Illinois  freight  tariff  law  was  framed  purposely 
to  injure  the  general  interests  of  Western  commerce. 
As  my  brother  Parks  says,  this  was  done  by  the  rail¬ 
way  interest  to  make  it  odious!  By  an  arbitrary  and 
very  unwise  provision  it  necessitates  a  gradual  in¬ 
crease  of  rates  in  proportion  to  distance.  It  becomes 
therefore,  a“  protective  ”  tariff  law  in  the  full  meaning 
of  that  term.  It  “  protects  ”  the  grain-grower  or  ship¬ 
per  ten  miles  from  a  certain  market,  against  the  com¬ 
petition  of  the  shipper  twenty  miles  away.  It  “pro¬ 
tects  ”  the  latter  against  his  competitor  at  the  station 


THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE. 


75 


beyond,  and  so  on,  until  the  “protection  ”  rises  to  the 
point  which  excludes  all  traffic  beyond.  It  creates  an 
ascending  scale  of  obstacles,  in  other  words,  and  these 
increase  in  magnitude,  until  at  length  the  obstacle 
is  too  great  for  trade  to  overcome,  and  at  that  point 
all  trade  ceases.  It  is,  as  it  were,  a  Chinese  wall 
built  across  the  country  garrisoned  by  an  army  to 
put  an  end  to  all  traffic  between  the  people  on  ei¬ 
ther  side.  For  instance:  the  legislative  wisdom  of 
your  State  having  erected  the  wall,  the  people  be¬ 
yond  it  must  trade  with  St.  Louis,  Toledo,  Mil¬ 
waukee,  and  villages  of  that  class,  or  some  other 
market  from  which  this  assembled  wisdom  has  not 
walled  them  out,  and  Chicago,  your  metropolis,  is 
left  out  in  the  cold.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  railways 
laugh  at  your  credulity? 

Farmer  Nettleton. — Well,  the  States  executive 
servants  have  nothing  to  do  with  consequences,  and 
have  no  right  to  consider  them  at  all.  If  you,  the 
sovereigns  who  have  made  the  law,  do  n’t  like  it,  re¬ 
peal  or  change  it.  So  long  as  it  is  the  law,  let  it  be 
executed  with  the  certainty  of  inexorable  fate.  Let 
me  see,  we  are  disciplining  our  forces  for  action ,  are 
we  not  ? 

Gleaner  Glenn. — The  fact  that  this  new  railway 
tariff  act  has  not  cured  the  monopoly  disease,  or  en¬ 
abled  us  to  get  more  money  for  our  corn,  may  be 
ascribed  to  railroad  companies  that  have  tried  to 
evade  the  law  and  not  obey  it.  It  is  probable  that  in 
framing  their  tariff  schedules,  some  companies  have 
not  acted  entirely  in  good  faith.  As  to  the  value 
of  farm  products,  the  old  rates  were  extortionary  in 


76 


GRAJNSFOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


the  extreme.  On  an  average  the  new  rates  are  more 
so.  Legislative  “  regulation  ”  and  “  control,”  as  we 
termed  the  veneer,  have  only  augmented  extortion. 
Now  that  the  veneering  is  wearing  off,  these  sched¬ 
ules  go  into  the  commissioner’s  shop  for  repairs. 
Besides  the  increased  cost  of  transportation,  farm¬ 
ers  must  also  pay  the  increased  cost  of  legislative 
tinkering  and  quackery. 

Farmer  Simmons. — I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  that  the 
philosophy  which  proposes  to  put  down  monopoly, 
without  removing  the  cause  of  monopoly,  is  an  idiotic 
philosophy!  [Cheers.] 

Gleaner  Gowdry. — No  movement  will  succeed  in 
this  country  that  is  not  based  on  justice  and  equity. 
Equity  means  simply  equalness.  Movements  have 
succeeded,  for  a  time,  in  this  country,  that  were  not 
based  on  equity.  That  which  established  African 
slavery  is  a  notable  instance  ;  and  the  “  protective,” 
system,  another  form  of  the  slavery  system,  was  not 
based  upon  equity,  yet  it  succeeded  for  a  time,  but 
will  be  abolished  as  African  slavery  was  abolished,  by 
the  rising  force  of  the  equity  principle.  Upon  this 
principle  is  based  our  emancipation  movement.  Ours 
is  a  declaration  of  war  against  railroad  steals,  salary 
grab  steals,  tariff  steals,  bank  steals,  and  every  other 
form  of  thieving  by  which  one  portion  of  the  people 
are  robbed  for  the  enrichment  of  a  more  favored  por¬ 
tion.  The  end  desired  to  be  attained  is  simply  equity ; 
equal  justice. 

The  Honorable  Brown. — Well,  you  can’t  accom¬ 
plish  it  by  trusting  to  political  parties,  whose  con¬ 
trolling  men  are  the  very  monopolists  who  have 


THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE. 


77 


practiced  and  inflicted  the  country  with  these  and 
other  “  steals,”  [applause]  or  by  leaning  upon  any 
rival  organization,  whose  “leaders”  have  helped  or 
indorsed  the  monopolists  in  their  iniquitous  work. 
If  we  would  be  emancipated  from  this  dominion  of 
plunder,  we  cannot  hope  to  attain  our  desire  by  trust¬ 
ing  to  either  of  these  iniquitous  organizations,  as  they 
stand.  We  must  repudiate  both,  and  set  up  a  new 
organization  for  ourselves,  which,  unlike  existing  par¬ 
ties,  shall  proceed  upon  the  basis  of  equity.  [Cheers.] 
Matron  Clay. — As  my  man  would  say,  if  he  were 
not  too  stiff  with  rheumatiz  to  be  here,  that’s  the 
key-note  to  the  whole  thing.  Plant  it  deep,  and  the 
plow  of  public  opinion  will  cultivate  it  for  the  glori¬ 
ous  harvest.  [Laughter  and  applause.] 

Farmer  Marston.— Now  let  us  see  what  the  work 
before  us  comprehends.  The  election  of  a  Farmer’s 
candidate  to  the  Supreme  Bench  of  Illinois,  in  April 
last,  was  our  first  victory.  [Applause.]  Shall  this 
appease  our  appetites?  [Cries  of  “ No  !  No /”]  It 
was  this  fear  that  made  the  monopolists  so  industri¬ 
ous  during  that  brief  but  memorable  campaign.  It 
is  what  worries  them  now.  Our  nomination  and  elec¬ 
tion  of  a  candidate  for  the  Bench  was  but  an  incident. 
It  was  not  a  personal  contest ;  the  Farmer’s  Conven¬ 
tion  that  nominated  our  candidate  was  called  in  the 
interest  of  a  great  and  righteous  cause — that  which 
denies  the  right  of  monopoly  and  affirms  equal  justice. 
This  was  the  real  issue,  and  our  victory  was  a  triumph 
for  that  cause.  Success  in  that  initial  contest  was 
necessary  to  the  life  of  our  movement.  It  was  not  a 
question  of  men,  but  one  of  life  or  death  for  a  great 


78 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


cause.  I  repeat,  it  was  but  an  incident.  The  organ¬ 
ization  has  further  and  more  distinctive  work  before 
it.  In  November  next,  there  is  to  be  elected  in  every 
county  in  this  state  a  corps  of  county  officers,  includ¬ 
ing  treasurers,  county  clerks,  surveyors,  etc.,  which 
have  heretofore  been  regarded  as  the  exclusive  spoils 
of  party  managers.  The  farmers’  organizations  will 
probably  nominate  their  own  men,  and  elect  them  to 
all  these  places,  except  in  the  larger  cities.  A  year 
later,  in  1874,  they  will  have  their  organizations  so 
complete  in  every  township  that  they  will  take  the 
election  of  the  26  state  senators  and  the  153  repre¬ 
sentatives  in  the  legislature  into  their  own  hands. 
They  will  also  take  into  their  own  hands  the  election 
of  members  of  congress,  and  will  select  men,  not  be¬ 
cause  of  their  advocacy  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment, 
nor  of  their  loyalty  during  the  war,  but  because  of 
their  supposed  fidelity  to  farmers’  interests. 

Granger  Gray. — Just  so  !  We  must  begin  the  re¬ 
form  at  home,  and  when  the  general  elections  occur, 
we  will  be  ready  for  the  contest  with  our  forces  dis¬ 
ciplined. 

Farmer  Ferris. — It  will  be  only  a  partial  remedy 
of  the  evils  of  monopoly,  if  we  stop  at  the  simple 
cure  of  railroad  extortion,  and  leave  in  full  force  the 
more  burdensome  tariff  laws,  and  other  class  legis¬ 
lation.  The  time  has  come  for  general  reform,  and 
the  man  who  would  consider  the  claims  of  party  in 
such  a  crisis  is  wittingly  or  unwittingly  acting  the 
part  of  an  obstructionist.  If  the  movement  con¬ 
tinues  to  extend  and  progress  as  our  organization 
has  developed,  into  almost  incredible  proportions 


THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE. 


79 


since  its  inception,  there  is  little  doubt  that  it  will 
clear  our  government  of  all  those  hot-beds  of  politi¬ 
cal  pollution,  that  have  been  breeding  contamination 
and  discord  in  all  its  departments  since  distorted 
radicalism  came  into  power. 

Colonel  Harris. — It  will  have  a  similar  effect  on 
the  hot-beds  of  political  pollution  that  exist  in  the 
Democratic  party  as  well.  The  work  which  the 
friends  of  equal  freedom  have  before  them  is  the 
work  of  a  political  revolution,  whose  consummation 
is  not  attainable  by  the  election  of  a  few  judges,  nor 
a  few  county  and  state  officers,  nor  even  by  the  choice 
of  a  few  state  and  federal  legislators.  We  shall  win 
by  controlling  the  law-making  power  ;  by  abolishing 
laws  that  carry  out  the  slavery  principle,  by  shaping 
the  public  polity,  so  that  the  opposite  principle  of 
freedom  shall  be  encouraged.  We  confront  no  feeble 
or  inexperienced  enemy,  nor  one  who  is  likely  to 
scruple  at  means,  or  fail  to  improve  opportunities. 
His  overthrow  will  require,  for  its  achievement,  all  the 
coherency  of  organization,  integrity  of  purpose,  faith¬ 
ful  adherence  to  principle,  and  steadiness  and  power 
of  execution,  that  the  supporters  of  our  cause  can 
command. 

Delegate  Davis. — I  am  from  near  St.  Paul,  Minn., 
but  do  not  bring  you  the  most  cheering  news  from 
our  state.  The  Farmers’  movement  towards  organ¬ 
izing  for  independent  political  action  is  a  matter  of 
serious  concern  to  the  politicians,  and  the  Patrons  of 
Husbandry  are  served  with  much  advice  from  the 
“organs”  and  flattery  from  the  candidates.  They 
warn  the  farmers  against  the  demagogues  and  Demo- 


8o 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


crats  lying  in  wait  to  pounce  upon  and  swallow  them, 
and  caution  them  to  beware  of  the  dangers  to  which 
their  untried  organization  will  be  exposed,  on  the 
troubled  sea  of  politics.  The  candidates,  of  course, 
profess  admiration  for  the  noble  pursuits  of  agricul¬ 
ture,  and  reverence  for  the  hard-fisted  yeomanry,  but 
add  to  such  professions  declarations  that  all  the  farm¬ 
ers  have  to  do  is  to  let  it  be  known  what  reforms  they 
ask,  when  the  great  and  good  Republican  party, — 
which  submits  to  exposures  of  official  rascality  when 
it  has  grown  too  great  to  be  hidden,  and  purifies 
itself  from  the  contamination  by  resolutions  which 
are  never  to  be  resolved  into  acts  (though  that  is  not 
the  way  in  which  our  candidates  describe  the  great¬ 
ness  and  goodness  of  their  party),  will  at  once 
proceed  to  enact  and  enforce  the  laws  which  the 
farmers  require.  But  the  first  good  effect  of  the 
Patrons’  organization  has  been  to  teach  the  farmers 
that  they  must  think,  as  well  as  work,  if  they  would 
hold  their  equal  place  in  the  management  of  public 
affairs.  If  they  do  think,  they  cannot  but  arrive  at 
the  conclusion  that  the  party  now  in  power,  or  rather 
its  leaders  (for  let  us  always  distinguish  between  the 
right-meaning  masses  and  those  who  mislead  them) 
is,  and  must  remain,  false  to  every  popular  interest ; 
that,  under  its  rule,  if  the  producing  classes  of  this 
country  are  yet  comparatively  prosperous,  it  is  be¬ 
cause  of  the  great  resources  and  unexhausted  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  labor  afforded  by  our  grand  Union,  which 
gives  free  trade  between  all  parts  of  a  territory  whose 
variety  of  soil,  climate,  and  natural  products  furnish 
the  foundations  of  commerce  and  exchange,  upon 


THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE. 


8 1 


which  a  much  greater  prosperity  might  be  built ;  and 
that,  if  they  would  regain  and  secure  their  right  to 
receive  the  real  value  of  their  products,  and  to  buy 
the  products  of  others  at  their  true  value  (which  is 
free  trade — though  it  won’t  do  to  call  it  by  that  name 
before  some  of  the  Grangers),  they  must  choose  for 
their  makers  and  executors  of  law  those  who  will  not 
frame  laws  of  fair  promise,  but  which  are  found  to  be 
cheats  and  delusions  when  they  come  before  the 
courts.  If  their  thinking  includes  a  review  of  the 
past  acts  of  political  leaders,  the  Farmers’  organiza¬ 
tion  will  create  a  demand  for  new  men. 

Though  the  Patrons  appear  to  be  united  in  their 
purpose  to  wage  war  for  internal  free  trade  by  com¬ 
bating  the  combinations  of  capitalists,  by  which  they 
are  shut  out,  either  as  sellers  or.  buyers,  from  the 
markets  of  the  country,  and  are  thereby  compelled 
to  take  and  give  such  prices  as  the  combinations  may 
fix,  yet  they  are  not  prepared  to  advocate  universal 
free  trade.  Although  they  heartily  unite  in  denounc¬ 
ing  official  corruption,  yet  they  do  not  seem  to  appre¬ 
ciate  the  fact  that  the  systematic  corruption,  which 
may  be  said  to  prevail  over  the  country,  may  be 
traced  back  to,  and  is  to-day  upheld  by,  those  com¬ 
binations  of  capitalists  and  speculators  who  find  it 
more  profitable  to  invest  in  the  theory  of  protection 
to  industry  than  in  industry  itself. 

I  find  among  the  Patrons  with  us,  a  minority  com¬ 
posed  of  an  influential  class  of  men,  whose  first 
political  impressions  were  derived  from  the  party  of 
which  Henry  Clay,  with  his  “  American  System,”  was 
the  acknowledged  leader  and  guide.  Mr.  Donnelly, 


82 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


who  is  the  favorite  speaker  at  the  Patron’s  assemblies, 
talks  free  trade  in  vain  to  these  men.  They  may  die 
some  time,  but  they  will  never  be  converted  from  the 
errors  of  their  youth.  Their  influence  will  be  found, 
I  fear,  strong  enough  to  prevent  the  Patrons  of  Hus¬ 
bandry  of  Minnesota  from  becoming  the  centre  of  a 
real  party  of  Reform.  But  they  may,  and  doubtless 
will,  help  along  the  growth  of  a  popular  feeling  which 
is  undermining  and  weakening  the  foundations  of 
party  ascendency,  which  is  the  forerunner  of  a  popu¬ 
lar  freedom  in  which  the  people  may  recover  both 
the  right  and  the  ability  to  govern  themselves. 

Until  lately,  the  Order  of  Patrons  of  Husbandry 
had  a  slow  growth  in  Minnesota.  Since  February,  it 
has  increased  very  fast,  and  now  numbers  over  300 
subordinate  Granges,  including  over  10,000  voters, 
and  is  likely  to  double  its  numbers  before  November. 

-  John  Owens. — I  am  from  Des  Moines,  Iowa.  We 
have  called  a  State  Convention.  Since  this  call  has 
'been  made,  not  less  than  one-third  of  the  counties 
in  the  State  have  responded  by  the  selection  of  del¬ 
egates.  These  counties  have  generally  passed  res¬ 
olutions  of  the  same  character  and  of  very  similar 
import.  The  disposition  generally  manifested  seems 
to  be  to  secure  a  harmony  of  the  opposition  elements ; 
to  secure  an  organization  independent  of  present 
parties,  whose  object  will  be  to  secure  a  complete  po¬ 
litical  reformation  in  the  State.  Every  one  of  these 
counties,  where  these  conventions  have  been  held 
complain  of  the  mismanagement  of  local  affairs. 
County  officers  have  been  stealing  or  neglecting  their 
duty  to  such  an  extent  that  reformation  is  demanded 


THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE. 


83 


Salaries  are  kept  up  to  a  war  basis,  and  jobs  are  con¬ 
stantly  being  made  to  enrich  the  office-holders,  and 
taxes  are  levied  without  regard  to  the  impoverished 
condition  of  the  country  and  the  tax-payers.  Offi¬ 
cials  elected  under  and  by  a  triumphant  party  refuse 
to  return  to  a  peace  footing  basis,  and  everything  is 
run  in  a  reckless  manner.  The  State  has  been  kept 
in  the  hands  of  politicians,  and  rings  and  combina- 
tions'have  secured  large  appropriations  which  should 
have  been  postponed,  at  least  for  the  present.  State 
officials  have  put  their  hands  in  the  Treasury,  and 
others  have  neglected  to  take  the  steps  to  prevent  it. 

These  are  some  of  the  causes  which  led  to  and  en¬ 
couraged  the  independent  organization,  and  this  ex¬ 
plains  the  reason  for  its  strength  to-day.  What  the 
progress  of  the  movement  shall  be  hereafter,  the  pru¬ 
dence  and  energy  of  the  men  who  have  started  it 
must  determine.  Thus  far  they  have  managed  quite 
well  to  steer  clear  of  demagogue  leadership.  A  few 
remain  to  plead  for  favor.  These  must  be  cast  over¬ 
board,  and  the  entire  organization  freed  of  their  per¬ 
nicious  influence. 

John  M.  Carl. — At  a  Farmer’s  meeting  held  at 
Clifton,  Illinois,  July  12,  1873,  of  which  I  had  the 
honor  of  being  chosen  president,  resolutions  were 
adopted,  which  I  think  express  the  sentiments  of  this 
and  every  Grange.  I  ask  that  they  be  spread  upon 
the  records  of  this  meeting. 

Resolved ,  That  we  believe  the  farmers’  movement 
to  be  based  upon  the  eternal  principles  of  right  and 
justice, — the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number, — 
and  we  do  not  propose  to  allow  ourselves  to  be  gob- 


84 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


bled  up  by  either  the  democratic  or  republican  party, 
experience  having  taught  us  that  politicians  forget 
promises  as  soon  as  the  election  is  fairly  over. 

Resolved, ,  That  we  believe  a  thief  should  be  called 
a  thief  without  regard  to  social  or  political  standing, 
and  we  characterize  the  recent  salary-grab  by  our  con¬ 
gress  and  president  as  no  better  than  a  steal,  whereby 
each  congressman  and  senator  is  voted  $5,000  extra 
pay  from  an  already  overburdened  and  bleeding  treas¬ 
ury,  and  we  hereby  denounce  as  infamous,  and  un¬ 
worthy  the  support  of  honest  men,  all  senators  and 
congressmen  who  have  pocketed  this  “  swag  ”  money. 
Especially  do  we  repudiate  and  denounce  our  own  sen¬ 
ators,  Lyman  Trumbull  and  John  A.  Logan,  and  our 
congressman  from  this  district,  Jesse  Moore,  for  their 
complicity  in  this  swindle. 

Resolved ,  That  the  time  has  come  when  it  is  nec¬ 
essary  for  our  own  protection  that  the  farmers  and 
laboring  classes  of  the  country  unite  and  act  as  a 
unit  in  the  defense  of  our  inalienable  rights,  and  that 
hereafter  we  will  ignore  past  party  affiliations  and 
vote  to  secure  our  own  interests  rather  than  those  of 
party  wire-pullers  and  tricksters ;  and,  furthermore, 
that  we  recommend  the  formation  of  a  new  party  on 
a  free-trade,  anti-monopoly  basis,  and  we  hereby  cor¬ 
dially  invite  the  citizens  of  our  county  to  unite  with 
us  to  carry  out  this  object. 

Delegate  Burton,  of  Carroll  Co.,  Illinois.  We 
had  a  big  time  down  our  way  on  the  “  glorious  Fourth.” 
Among  the  sentiments  inscribed  on  the  many  banners 
that  were  borne  in  the  arriving  processions,  were  the 
following.  I  was  requested  by  the  Grange  at  Lanark, 
to  ask  a  place  for  them  in  the  Blue  Book. 

“  The  Farmers’  Movement — Already  inaugurated 


THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE.  .  85 

in  Twenty-four  States.  It  will  sweep  Everything  be¬ 
fore  itT 

“No  More  Republicans!  No  more  Democrats! 
We  want  and  must  have  Honest  Men  to  fill  Public 
Positions !” 

“  Who  would  be  Free,  himself  must  strike  the  Blow!” 

“  Corn  must  go  up  !  Monopolies  must  come  down  !” 

“  Salary-Grabbers,  hunt  your  holes !” 

“  Equal  and  Exact  Justice  to  all !  Special  Privi¬ 
leges  to  no  one  !” 

“  Salary  of  our  Congressman,  One  Hundred  Bush¬ 
els  of  Corn  per  day  !  Poor  Fellow  !” 

“  Farmers,  to  the  front !  Politicians,  take  back  seats!” 

[Deafening  applause.] 

Behind  some  bushes  on  a  distant  knoll,  we  came  * 
upon  a  spy  from  the  “  American  Protection  League  ” 
Among  his  effects  was  found  a  handsomely  painted 
banner,  with  this  inscription  : 

“  Dont  carry  your  movement  into  Politics  /” 

He  had  been  trying  to  hire  some  of  our  fellows  to 
carry  it  in  the  procession,  but  did  not  succeed. 

Dr.  Morse. — I  have  been  thinking  that  this  stuff 
the  enemy  throws  at  us  about  “  legislative  control 
and  regulation  ”  is  the  nostrum  of  the  quacks,  and 
nothing  more.  The  question  is  not  at  all  in  relation 
to  the  power  of  legislative  interference  and  control ; 
it  is  whether  it  is  practicable  by  such  interference 
to  attain  the  desired  end  !  The  professional  politi¬ 
cians  who  are  chiefly  concerned  in  maintaining  the 
monopoly  system,  do  n’t  approach  the  practical  side 
of  the  question  at  all,  but  try  to  bamboozle  the  pa¬ 
tient,  by  harping  upon  the  indisputable  fact,  that  the 
legislature  has  power  to  complicate  the  mischief  by 


86 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


prescribing  remedies  worse  than  the  disease,  in  the 
shape  of  meddlesome  legislative  statutes.  All  the 
little  and  big  monopoly  newspaper  organs  have  been 
harping  on  this  string — and  all  the  professional  pol¬ 
iticians  who  have  been  bought  up,  bribed  or  subsi¬ 
dized  by  the  railway  interest  or  “pig-iron  pirates,” 
with  money  extorted  from  the  labor  of  the  country, 
take  up  and  prolong  the  chorus.  The  office-holding 
tax-eaters,  salary-grabbers,  and  legislative  quacks, 
bawl  with  one  voice :  “  The  panacea  for  monopoly  is 
legislative  regulation  and  control  ;  the  Republican 
party  is  the  only  infallible  physician  ;  we  are  the  Re¬ 
publican  party,  and  this  is  the  nostrum  we  prescribe  ! 
Come,  oh  dearly-beloved  farmers,  and  swallow  our 
patent  never-failing  bolus.” 

The  patient  grows  worse,  and  if  you  farmers  swal¬ 
low  the  treacherous  bolus,  or  put  it  aside,  it  is  my 
duty  as  neighborhood  physician,  to  help  you  to  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  nature  of  its  ingredients. 

Delegate  Delevan. — I  am  from  Augusta,  Geor¬ 
gia,  and  at  your  committee’s  request,  will  give  you  an 
idea  of  the  feeling  at  the  South.  I  have  here  a  copy 
of  the  Constitutionalist ,  a  leading  paper  with  us,  which 
strikes  the  key-note  of  the  grand  march  of  the  future. 
It  is  coming  to  be  as  plain  as  daylight,  that  in  that 
march  tne.  South  and  West  will  move  on  side  by  side. 
I  read  from  the  journal  named  : 

“The  South  and  the  great  West  are  coming  together 
on  the  protective  tariff  question.  They  find  in  its 
oppressive  operation  upon  the  farming  industry  a 
bond  of  sympathy  which  will  bring  the  masses  every¬ 
where  to  their  aid.  They  will  strike  together  for 


wm 

THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE.  87 

justice  and  equal  rights — for  the  annihilation  of  spec¬ 
ial  bounties  to  capital  against  labor.  It  will  be  a 
labor  strike  in  its  most  effective  form,  and  will  carry 
the  elections  triumphantly  against  the  Republican 
party. 

“  In  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry  is  the  germ  of  a 
great  reform  party.  *  *  *  Their  organization 

has,  for  its  basis,  the  great  principles  of  free  trade  and 
equal  rights.” 

The  leading  organs  are  raising  the  banner  of  com¬ 
mercial  freedom  and  personal  independence,  all  over 
the  South.  I  may  add,  that  the  rapid  increase  of 
radical  free-trade  journals,  in  the  last  few  months,  in 
the  United  States,  is  one  of  the  most  surprising  and 
significant  signs  of  the  times,  since  the  civil  war. 

M.  C.  Powers,  of  Indiana. — Yes,  sir.  It  is  within 
bounds  to  say  that  the  number  of  free-trade  news¬ 
papers — which  means,  of  course,  the  number  of  peo- 
•ple  who  read  free-trade  literature,  and  realize  a  new 
interest  in  free-trade  ideas  and  principles — is  greater 
at  this  time  than  at  any  previous  time  in  our  history. 
We  congratulate  you,  sir,  and  your  people,  that  your 
conspicuous  journals  manifest  a  disposition  to  cease 
threshing  over  the  old  straw  of  “  conservatism.”  We 
class  “conservatives”  with  us,  with  “antediluvians” 
or  “  old  fogies.”  Leaders  in  the  Democratic  party 
belonged  to  that  class,  as  was  made  plain  enough  by 
their  advocacy  of  the  slavery  principle,  even  up  to 
the  year  1862.  Most  men  who  have  a  lover’s  regard 
for  “ancient  ways,”  are  believers  in  the  slavery  prin¬ 
ciple,  which  is  the  same  thing  as  the  monopoly  prin¬ 
ciple,  for  the  “ancient  ways,”  in  all  countries,  were  the 


88 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


slavery  ways.  It  seems  to  be  in  their  nature  to  stand 
up  for  the  “ancient  ways ”  and  depreciate  every  propo¬ 
sition  to  advance  nearer  to  the  law  of  equity  as 
“inexpedient.”  “Expediency”  seems  to  be  the  Dem¬ 
ocratic  war-cry  now,  which,  like  the  faded  yelp  of 
“  Policy,”  is  but  another  word  for  cowardice.  These 
words  comprehend  the  whole  political  and  religious 
faith  of  this  class.  They  worship  only  at  the  shrine 
of  “  authority,”  and  hold  that  authority  best  which 
can  boast  the  most  ancient  and  musty  pedigree.  We 
farmers  offer  both  parties  the  fresher  word,  Progress , 
which  will  live,  and  thrive,  and  grow. 

Hon.  Grover. — What  is  the  Democratic  party? 
A  brother  thought  I  ought  to  answer  his  question 
from  my  seat  here  to-day.  Well,  those  of  you  who 
have  known  the  fossil  for  the  last  dozen  years  must 
be  familiar  with  the  character  of  its  “  leaders.”  Now, 
for  all  ordinary  purposes  of  usefulness,  a  party  or¬ 
ganization  is  just  what  the  character  of  its  representa¬ 
tive  men  or  “leaders  ”  make  it.  The  words  conserva¬ 
tism  and  expediency  give  a  complete  generalization  of 
the  character  of  the  men  who  have  been,  and  still 
are,  the  recognized  “leaders”  in  the  so-called  Demo¬ 
cratic  party.  The  first  of  the  words  I  have  quoted 
from  their  creed,  generalizes  the  purposes  of  these 
“  leaders,”  which  is,  to  bask  in  the  shade  of  ancient 
tombs,  or  progress  slowly  backward.  The  second 
word  generalizes  the  methods  adopted  for  reaching 
proposed  ends,  and  exhibits  a  determination  to  hold 
principles  subservient  to  all  else. 

Farmer  Doty. — Yes,  but  treachery  on  the  part  of 
“leaders”  cannot  justly  be  imputed  to  the  masses  of 
the  party. 


THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE.  89 

Grover. — No,  sir;  provided  the  masses  of  the 
party  refuse  to  follow  the  “  leaders.”  If  this  takes 
place,  the  “  leaders  ”  cease  to  be  leaders  and  the 
masses  cease  to  be  members  of  the  party. 

Farmer  Doty. — The  Illinois  Democratic  State 
Convention,  held  in  October,  1871,  adopted  a  straight- 
out  free-trade  resolution.  That  Convention  fairly 
represented  the  masses  of  the  party. 

Grover. — Very  true;  that  was  done  in  opposition 
to  the  wishes,  efforts  and  speeches  of  the  more  “.con¬ 
servative”  leaders  and  disciples  of  the  Expediency 
or  Policy  doctrine.  Among  these  leaders  were  two 
members  of  congress,  two  or  three  ex-candidates, 
who  expected  to  try  it  again,  and  even  your  candidate 
for  the  state  at  large,  whom  that  very  Convention  put 
in  nomination.  These  gentlemen  thought  the  decla- 
ation  of  a  Democratic  principle,  by  a  Democratic  Con¬ 
vention,  “  inexpedient.”  Did  the  masses  throw  them 
overboard  ?  No  !  just  six  months  after,  most  of  you 
permitted  these  same  conservatives,  expediency  fel¬ 
lows,  to  sell  you  out,  body  and  soul,  to  the  most  con¬ 
spicuous  and  vehement  apostle  of  the  slavery  princi¬ 
ple  that  ever  lived  upon  this  continent.  Now  the 
party,  whose  leaders  have  been  selling  you  out  to 
“  Pennsylvania  pig-iron  pirates,”  as  your  home  paper 
calls  them,  for  the  last  dozen  or  fifteen  years,  ask  you 
to  trust  and  try  them  again.  I  don’t  think  we  have 
them  asses  among  us  whose  habits  of  obedience  will 
so  overbalance  their  regard  for  principle,  that  they 
will  follow  these  untrustworthy  leaders  straight  into 
the  camp  of  the  enemy. 

Granger  Gray. — We  feel  that  under  no  circum- 


90 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


stances  can  we  trust  the  old  political  parties. 
[Cheers.]  We  must  strike  out  for  ourselves  and  act 
for  ourselves,  if  we  would  have  reform.  [Renewed 
cheering.] 

Delegate  Dore. — I  would  say  to  my  Brother 
Grover,  that  if  the  so-called  Democratic  party  is 

seeking  our  smiles,  the  Republican  party  is  every¬ 
where  on  its  knees,  and  this  is  the  burden  of  their 

prayer : 

“Sovereigns!  farmers!  freemen!  We  glory  in 
your  movement.  It  is  both  right  and  timely,  but  you  * 
must  look  out  for  the  Democratic  party,  for  it  will 
try  and  gobble  you.  We  are  your  friends;  tell  us 
what  you  want  and  you  shall  have  it.  True/we  have 
sinned  grievously,  but  we  are  willing  to  be  forgiven. 
True,  we  have  abused  the  trust  reposed  in  us  by  a 
too-confiding  people,  but  we  did  n’t  mean  to.  We 
have  disregarded  the  general  good,  and  violated  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land,  but  that  was  only  a  party 
mistake.  We  have  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  demands 
of  liberty,  and  have  adopted  measures  of  the  worst 
tyranny  the  world  has  ever  seen,  but  our  leaders  said 
it  was  “policy.”  Lest  this  should  fail,  we  enacted  a 
despotic  bayonet  election  law,  to  perpetuate  our  mis¬ 
rule,  but,  you  see,  you  can’t  always  trust  the  people. 
We  have  inflicted  upon  the  country  the  most  infer¬ 
nal  system  of  protected  robbery  in  the  tariff  laws, 
but  we  had  to  make  some  sort  of  a  financial  show, 
you  know.  We  have  overtaxed  the  people,  these 
rascally  Democrats  say,  and  stolen  and  wasted  the 
public  revenues  ;  but  this  is  a  Democratic  lie.  They 
go  further,  and  charge  that  we  have  encouraged  and 
augmented  the  long-prevailing  corruption  in  every 
branch  of  the  public  service,  and  to  silence  the 
reasonable  demand  for  reform  in  the  civil  service,  we 


THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE. 


91 


have  invented  schemes  to  show  how  not  to  do  it, — 
but  this  is  another  Democratic  lie,  and  there’s  no  end 
to  ’em — I  mean  the  Democratic  lies.  Knowing  these 
things  to  be  Democratic  lies,  of  course  you  will  vote 

o  * 

for  us.  We  pledge  ourselves  to  correct  our  mistakes 
and  to  draw  a  tighter  rein  on  our  leaders.  Come, 
dear  farmers,  and  vote  for  us.  It  is  better  to  trust 
an  established  party,  that  has  the  right  belt  on  every 
wheel,  than  to  experiment  with  a  new  one.  What¬ 
ever  you  do,  look  out  for  the  Democrats !” 

Delegate  Clinton. — That  party  was  organized  to 
combat  negro  slavery,  and  accomplished  its  overthrow. 
It  then  enslaved  the  white  man  and  demanded  bread 
for  tribute.  I  don’t  want  any  of  that  in  mine,  at  all ! 

Chancellor  Murphy. — Good!  We  believe  the 
times  demand  our  united  action,  regardless  of  party 
affiliations.  We  have  a  greater  work  to  accomplish 
than  mere  party  success.  We  shall  be  offered  fre¬ 
quent  bids  from  the  party  in  power,  upon  the  plea 
that  it  will  accede  to  our  demands  and  correct  its  er¬ 
rors  within  its  own  organization.  All  this  has  been 
promised  before,  and  is  the  mere  effervescence  of 
demagogism.  We  must  steer  clear  of  both  parties. 
[Applause.] 

Delegate  Wilson. — That  is  what  I  have  been 
telling  our  people,  over  in  Iowa.  No  cause,  however 
worthy  or  just,  can  hope  for  success  if  its  advocates 
are  not  willing  to  subordinate  all  merely  personal 
considerations  and  all  old  party  prejudices  to  the  new 
undertaking.  We  must  carry  the  war  into  politics 
upon  an  independent  party  ground.  The  problem 
which  we  are  seeking  to  solve,  is  a  political  problem, 


92  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

and  the  most  important  one,  which  concerns  the  in¬ 
habitants  of  this  country,  for  it  lies  at  the  very  foun¬ 
dation  of  political,  civil  and  individual  liberty.  This 
is  a  Movement  to  secure  emancipation  from  the  slave 
power  of  monopoly.  Any  organization  with  such  a 
work  in  hand,  that  pretends  to  exclude  “politics” 
from  its  deliberations  and  modes  of  action,  is  of  no 
more  use  than  a  fifth  wheel  to  the  farmers’  wa^on. 
Again:  we  must  look  out  for  traitors  and  spies  in  the 
camp,  who  are  serving  in  that  capacity — the  cause  of 
the  monopolists  by  working  to.  divide  the  house 
against  itself,  and  bring  it  to  ruin  at  the  hands  of  its 
own  builders.  We  have  them  in  Iowa,  they  are 
among  you  here  in  Illinois,  and  like  all  other  species 
of  vermin,  they  will  breed  rapidly  everywhere,  as  the 
tropical  nature  of  our  movement  becomes  more  and 
more  apparent. 

Farmer  Bennett,  Ohio. — Let  me  add,  gentlemen, 
that  a  reformatory  movement,  whose  promoters  lack 
the  essential  virtue  of  fidelity  to  their  own  cause,  is 
in  no  respect  any  more  servicectble  to  that  cause  than 
either  of  the  old  parties  would  be,  and  is  no  more 
deserving  of  respect  than  the  “  platforms”  these  old 
parties  adopt.  If  we  would  win  the  public  confidence 
for  our  movement,  and  bring  to  our  organization  the 
support  of  all  genuine  anti-monopolists — a  support 
we  must  have  in  order  to  succeed — our  only  course  is 
to  put  aside  all  personal  considerations  and  prejudices, 
and  kick  out  all  traitors  en^a^ed  in  the  interest  of 

the  enemy,  and  strike  as  one  man  for  the  cause. 

✓  ' 

Wm.  Foster,  Wisconsin. — I  have  no  harsh  words 
for  the  political  parties.  They  have  done  their  work, 


T 


THE  LIBERAL  GRANGE.  93 

and,  however  indifferently,  both  have  served  their 
time.  Both  are  appalled  by  the  evidences  of  our  in¬ 
creasing  strength,  and  both  are  billing  and  cooing  to 
win  our  smiles.  The  Republican  party  avers  that  it 
is  ready  to  assume  the  issues  which  we  demand,  as  a 
part  of  its  future  policy.  It  promises  to  carry  out 
our  wishes  and  argues  that  having  its  “  organization 
perfected  ”  it  is  in  a  better  condition  to  carry  through 
our  wishes  than  a  new  party.  By  having  its  “  organ-* 
ization  perfected  ”  is  meant,  that  its  office-holders 
still  live  to  sneeze  when  the  emperor  takes  snuff,  and 
that  the  army  of  “cousins”  and  “brothers-in-law,”  of 
which  we  have  heard  so  much,  is  still  in  training 
Our  Movement  was  organized  to  deal  with  wrong 
and  abuse.  Now,  how  can  we  trust  our  cause  in  the 
hands  of  a  party  of  which  the  promoters  of  these 
wrongs  and  abuses  are  honored  members,  and  in 
which  they  have  as  many  rights  as  anybody  else  ? 
To  listen  to  its  overtures  is  to  confess  that  we  are 
ignorant  of  the  purpose  expressed  under  the  term 
“Anti-Monopoly.”  Some  of  us  are  ready  to  confess 
that  we  went  into  this  movement  because  the  Repub¬ 
lican  party  with  which  we  have  been  acting  is  in  part 
responsible  for  our  present  grievances.  No  reform 
is  possible  while  the  two  old  political  parties  cumber 
the  ground.  Theirs  is  a  contest  between  the  “  Ins” 
and  the  “Outs.”  The  Republican  party  exists  merely 
as  a  menace  to  the  Democratic  party — to  keep  it  out 
of  power;  and  the  latter  exists  only  to  keep  the  Re¬ 
publican  party  in  power.  The  death  of  one  would 
take  from  the  other  all  object  and  desire  to  live. 

Delegate  Atwood,  Wisconsin, — We  Wisconsin 


94 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


Patrons  are  watching  the  critters  very  closely.  It  is 
amusing  to  witness  the  solicitous  concern  with  which 
the  press  of  both  parties  is  warning  us  to  beware  of 
demagogues,  who  would  beguile  us  unawares,  with 
their  sweetest  accents.  It  is  equally  entertaining  to 
observe  with  what  assiduity  and  obsequiousness  the 
demagogues  are  wooing  our  Patrons  of  Husbandry* 
We  Patrons  too,  have  our  little  laugh  all  to  ourselves, 
at  the  aptitude  with  which  guileless  “  city  gentlemen” 
are  fain  to  put  hay-seed  on  their  shoulders,  and  blue 
overalls  on  their  thin  legs,  in  token  of  their  devotion  to 
husbandry  and  their  enmity  to  railroads.  But  that 
cheap  sort  of  forgery,  don’t  go  down.  We  farmers 
are  quite  too  shrewd  to  be  seduced  with  the  soft  pa¬ 
laver  of  these  bettered  old  political  roues .  They  are 
very  anxious  to  discover  what  plans  our  Granges 
have  in  view,  calculated  to  derange  their  own  polit¬ 
ical  schemes  for  the  coming  fall.  They  are  likely  to 
find  out  along  about  that  time. 

Senator  Carpenter’s  dextrous  juggling  in  defence 
of  the  “  back-pay  ”  steal,  has  deluded  few  out  our  way. 
We  Patrons  are  of  the  opinion,  that  if  the  Constitu¬ 
tion  obliges  unwilling  congressmen  to  accept  whatev¬ 
er  salary  they  may  see  fit  to  vote  themselves,  on  pain 
of  being  held  for  treason,  there  is  at  least  nothing  in 
that  revered  instrument  that  restrains  them  from  re¬ 
turning  stolen  goods.  [Applause.] 

On  motion,  the  Grange  here  adjourned,  subject  to 
the  call  of  the  executive  committee. 


THE  ANTI-MONOPOLY  LEAGUE. 


ITS  ORIGIN,  PROGRESS,  AND  FINAL  TRIUMPH. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Signs  of  the  Times _ The  Conflict  between  Protection  and  Free  Trade _ * 

The  British  Corn  Laws _ A  favorite  Policy  with  England _ The  Agricultur* 

ists  and  their  Monopoly _ A  Compromise _ Revisions  of  the  Corn  Laws _ * 

A  perfect  Specimen  of  Protective  Legislation - The  Repealing  Act  of  1846 _ 

Commercial  Depression _ The  Germ  of  a  Mighty  Enterprise. .  .The  Anti- 

Corn  Law  Association _ The  Free  Trade  Parliament _ A  Bill  to  Abolish 

the  Sliding  Scale _ A  period  of  Unexampled  Distress _ The  Events  of  1843. 

The  prime  Maxim  of  the  League _ Dissolution  of  the  League. 

Careful  observers  of  the  signs  of  the  times  in  this 
country,  see  that  the  conflict  between  the  antagonistic 
doctrines  of  Protection  and  Free  Trade,  is  gradually 
verging  toward  a  final  trial  of  strength.  Years  may 
elapse  before  either  will  achieve  a  complete  victory ; 

in  the  meantime  the  discussion  of  these  rival  theories 

* 

will  go  on  in  Congress,  through  the  public  press,  and 
before  the  forum  of  the  masses.  The  causes  and 
effects  of  the  repeal  of  the  British  Corn  Laws  will, 
for  obvious  reasons,  mingle  in  these  discussions  as  they 
have  done  heretofore,  and  it  is  believed  an  outline 
sketch  of  the  movement,  which  resulted  in  the  aboli¬ 
tion  of  that  system,  will  be  peculiarly  acceptable  at 
this  time.  In  the  present  article,  we  only  incidentally 
allude  to  the  origin,  objects,  and  consequences  of  the 

95 


g6  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

system,  confining  our  efforts  mainly  to  a  notice  of  the 
measures  which  led  to  its  final  overthrow. 

Government  protection  to  the  products  of  the  soil, 
by  means  of  imposts  on  importations  from  other 
countries,  was  a  favorite  policy  with  England,  from 
an  early  period.  In  a  speech  on  the  Corn  Laws, 
Lord  Stanley  stated  that  the  principle  of  landlord 
protection  had  been  recognized  in  that  country  five 
centuries.  Adam  Smith  was  among  the  ablest,  if  not 
among  the  earliest  British  writers,  who  propounded 
the  doctrine,  that  free  trade  was  the  highway  to  com¬ 
mercial  prosperity.  Since  Dr.  Smith’s  day,  some  of 
the  most  distinguished  writers  and  statesmen  of  Great 
Britain  have  enrolled  themselves  among  his  disciples. 
In  the  front  rank  of  these,  we  may  place  the  brilliant 
men  who,  during  the  first  thirty  years  of  the  present 
century,  made  the  Edinburg  Review  their  literary 
or^an  of  communication. 

In  1 773,  the  plastic  hand  of  Edward  Burke  gave 
the  British  Corn  Laws  the  general  character  which, 
with  occasional  modifications,  they  retained  till  their 
abolition  in  1846.  They  were  altered  or  revised  in 
1791,  1804,  1815  and  1828.  The  enactments  of 
1815  and  1828  embodied  the  system  usually  referred 
to  in  our  day,  when  we  speak  in  general  terms  of 
‘‘the  Corn  Laws.”  The  object  of  all  these  enact¬ 
ments  was  to  afford  the  agriculturists  of  the  king¬ 
dom  as  perfect  a  monopoly  as  possible  in  the  raising 
and  sale  of  breadstuff's,  and  still  allow  foreign  grain 
and  flour  to  be  imported  whenever  a  deficiency  in  the 
home  production,  arising  from  bad  harvests  or  other 
causes,  created  a  scarcity  of  that  species  of  food. 


TIIE  ANTI-MONOPOLY  LEAGUE. 


97 


The  system  was  adjusted  on  the  basis  of  a  sort  of 
compromise  between  the  profits  of  the  producers 
and  the  wants  of'  the  consumers;  the  repletion  of 
the  pockets  of  the  former  only  ceasing  when  it  would 
necessarily  exhaust  the  stomachs  of  the  latter. 

The  tendency  ol  public  sentiment,  in  respect  to 
the  principles  of  protection  and  free  trade,  during 
the  forty  or  fifty  years  following  the  enactment  of 
Mr.  Burke's  law,  is  shown  by  the  fact,  that  at  each 
revision  of  the  Corn  Laws,  from  1773  down  to,  and 
including  that  of  1813,  the  duties  were  made  more 
and  more  protective.  The  act  of  1828  had  its 
“sliding  scale”  of  duties,  by  operation  of  which  the 
duties  on  breadstuffs  fell  as  the  prices  rose,  and  rose 
as  the  prices  fell.  It  had  some  25  degrees  in  its  scale. 
We  specify  three  or  four  as  examples  of  the  whole. 
For  instance,  when  wheat  commanded  an  average 
price  throughout  the  kingdom  of  fifty-two  shillings 
per  quarter,  (eight  bushels)  the  duty  on  the  foreign 
article  was  thirty-four  shillings  and  eight  pence — 
practically  a  prohibition.  When  the  price  rose  to 
sixty  shillings,  the  duty  fell  to  twenty-six  shillings 
and  eight  pence — almost  a  prohibition.  When  the 
price  mounted  up  to  seventy  shillings,  the  duty  went 
down  to  ten  shillings  and  eight  pence — a  point  at 
which  the  importer  could  introduce  the  article  and 
realize  a  small  profit.  This  complicated  and  ever- 
shifting  scheme  was  regarded,  by  its  authors,  as  an 
exquisitely  perfect  specimen  of  “protective”  legisla¬ 
tion.  It  was  intended  to  afford  a  complete  monopoly 
in  breadstuffs  to  fifty  thousand  landlords,  except  at 
periods  when  high  prices  would  doom  the  poorer 


98 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


class  of  consumers  to  starvation,  unless  supplies 
came  in  from  other  countries.  As  they  approached 
the  starvation  point,  the  ports  were  to  be  kindly 
opened  a  little  ways,  when  temporary  relief  might  be 
obtained,  provided  there  were  any  grain  in  bond  to 
be  admitted,  and  provided  further,  that  the  unnatural 
system  had  not  already  so  impoverished  the  squalid,  . 
starving  wretches,  that  they  were  unable  to  purchase 
bread  at  any  price. 

The  law  of  1828  remained  in  force,  subject  to  some 
modifications,  made  in  1842,  until  its  abolition  in 
1846.  The  repealing  act  of  1846  did  not,  however, 
go  into  full  operation  until  1849.  Let  us  hastily 
sketch  the  origin,  progress  and  triumph  of  the  move¬ 
ment  which  finally  resulted  in  the  final  prostration  of 
the  system.  It  commenced  in  1838.  About  the 
beginning  of  the  previous  year,  severe  commercial 
depression  pervaded  the  United  Kingdom.  It  orig¬ 
inated  partly  in  the  influence  upon  British  trade  pro¬ 
duced  by  the  monetary  collapse  occurring  in  this 
country  in  1836-7.  The  foreign  exchanges  turned 
against  England  and  heavy  exportations  of  bullion 
were  demanded.  This  compelled  a  great  contraction 
of  the  usual  accommodation  extended  to  commercial 
men,  and  caused  the  failure  or  temporary  suspension 
cf  many  of  the  large  English  houses.  These  evils 
were  aggravated  by  a  deficiency  in  the  harvest  of 
that  year.  Merchants,  manufacturers,  and  shippers 
declaimed  much  about  the'  disarrangement  of  the 
currency  and  the  illiberality  of  the  bank  of  England, 
but  scarcely  dreamed  of  attributing  any  of  their  dis¬ 
asters  to  the  disorganizing  effects  of  an  unnatural  sys 


THE  ANTI-MONOPOLY  LEAGUE. 


99 


tern  of  political  economy,  imposed  upon  the  country 
under  the  delusive  name  of  “  protection.”  A  few 
thinking  men,  however,  charged  the  prime  cause  of 
these  evils  to  the  restrictive  policy  of  the  British 
tariff,  and  the  prohibitory  features  and  slippery, 
sliding  scale  of  the  Corn  Laws.  Among  the  most 
sagacious  and  energetic  of  these  were  Dr.  Bowring, 
a  distinguished  disciple  of  Jeremy  Bentham,  and  Col. 
P.  Thompson,  also  a  Benthamite,  and  author  of  a 
pamphlet  called  “  The  Catechism  of  the  Corn  Laws,” 
and  Richard  Cobden,  a  calico  manufacturer  of  Man¬ 
chester.  At  a  small  meeting  held  at  Manchester,  in 
September,  1838,  an  “Anti-Corn  Law  Association” 
was  formed.  This  was  the  germ  whence  sprung  the 
mighty  enterprise,  which,  after  a  severe  and  exciting 
contest  of  seven  years,  revolutionized  the  politico- 
economical  theories  and  practices  of  the  most  intelli¬ 
gent  and  opinionated  people  in  Europe.  It  broke  the 
power  of  the  richest  and  most  haughty  landed  aris¬ 
tocracy  of  modern  times ;  converted  to  its  doctrines 
and  taught  to  do  its  bidding,  the  most  prejudiced 
and  omnipotent  legislature  in  the  world.  Finally,  it 
overthrew  a  system  which,  by  the  growth  and  culture 
of  centuries,  had  entwined  its  roots  around  the  inter¬ 
ests  of  the  monetary,  trading,  and  agricultural  classes 
of  the  first  commercial  and  manufacturing  nation  of 
the  age. 

The  merchants  and  manufacturers  of  Manchester 
voted  a  subscription  to  sustain  the  Association.  In 
December  following,  its  Chamber  of  Commerce  sent 
a  petition  to  parliament,  praying  for  the  total  and 
immediate  repeal  of  the  odious  Corn  and  Provision 


IOO 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


Laws.  *  In  all  these  proceedings  Mr.  Cobden  bore  a 
prominent  part.  Thus  aided  and  encouraged,  the 
Association  caused  a  meeting  of  deputies  or  dele¬ 
gates  to  assemble  in  Manchester,  in  January,  1839,  to 
consider  the  question  of  Corn  Law  repeal,  and  adopt 
measures  for  th.e  prosecution  of  the  work.  This 
meeting1  authorized  the  Association  to  convene  a 

o 

similar  assemblage  in  London,  at  the  opening  of  the 
approaching  session  of  parliament,  for  the  purpose 
of  watching  and  operating  upon  its  proceedings. 
The  meeting  assembled,  and  was  numerously  attended 
by  influential  persons  from  various  parts  of  the  king¬ 
dom.  They  prepared  a  petition  for  the  House  of 
Commons,  asking  that  they  might  offer  evidence  at 
its  bar  in  proof  of  the  injurious  effects  of  the  Corn 
Laws.  This  was  presented,  and  the  requisite  motion 
made  by  Villiers,  with  a  speech  in  its  defence.  The 
speech  was  treated  with  silent  contempt  and  the 
motion  negatived.  The  deputies  returned  home, 
but  re-assembled  in  large  numbers,  in  the  next  month, 
parliament  being  still  in  session.  They  convened  at 
Browns  Hotel,  Palace-yard,  a  spot  which  became 
somewhat  celebrated  for  the  Anti-Corn  Law  measures 
which  there  originated.  The  Protectionists  nick- 
named  the  meeting,  “The  Free-Trade  Parliament.” 
They  chose  a  committee  to  collect  evidence,  and 
deputed  Villiers  to  open  the  battle  in  the  House. 
His  speech  was  received  with  coughings,  scrapings 
and  other  demostrations  of  contempt.  Hardly  wait¬ 
ing  for  its  close,  a  division  was  called  for  amid  the 
wildest  hootings,  when  344  members,  against  197, 
rushed  into  the  ante-rooms  of  the  house,  to  stifle,  by 


THE  ANTI-MONOPOLY  LEAGUE. 


IOI 


their  clamor,  a  great  national  demand,  made  in  behalf 
of  sound  principles  and  suffering  humanity. 

But  the  Commons  mistook  the  metal  of  the  men 
with  whom  they  were  dealing.  The  Manchester  Cal¬ 
ico  Printer  and  his  coadjutors  were  not  to  be  silenced 

* 

by  noise,  nor  diverted  from  their  object  by  contempt. 
They  determined  to  teach  their  rulers  better  manners 
and  better  doctrines.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Cobden  the 
deputies  organized  an  association  to  be  called  “  The 
ATational  Anti-Corn-Law  League .”  The  League  im¬ 
mediately  prepared  to  enter  upon  a  system  of  pop¬ 
ular  agitation  throughout  the  country  through  the 
medium  of  small  pamphlets  and  public  addresses. 
The  gage  of  battle  was  now  fairly  thrown  in  the  face 
of  the  protectionists.  The  issue  was  made  up — Cheap 
Bread  versus  the  Monopoly  of  Wealth.  On  the  one 
hand  were  a  small  but  resolute  band  of  men  who  had 
based  their  cause  on  solid  principles  of  political  econ¬ 
omy.  They  had  facts,  logic,  eloquence  and  humanity 
on  their  side.  They  were  sustained  by  a  constancy 
which  no  discouragement  could  abate,  and  a  courage 
which  no  opposition  could  daunt.  On  the  other  hand, 
were  government  power,  hereditary  station,  boundless 
patronage,  ancient  precedent  and  arrogant  assump¬ 
tion  of  superior  wisdom  and  inherent  rights.  The 
monopolists  boasted  that  they  would  crush  the  League 
in  the  bud.  Nor  was  the  threat  the  mere  efferves¬ 
cence  of  vanity.  When  Burke  introduced  the  Corn 
Law  in  1773,  the  owners  of  the  cultivated  soil  of  Eng¬ 
land  were  computed  at  240,000.  The  agricultural 
monopoly  which  prevailed  from  that  time  had  tended 
to  produce  a  steady  diminution  of  the  number.  When 


102 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


the  “  League  ”  was  organized  by  the  closest  ties  of 
interest ;  acted  together  on  all  matters  affecting  their 
cherished  monopoly  almost  as  one  man. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  movement,  the  dis¬ 
cussions  had  sole  reference  to  a  repeal  of  the  Corn 
Laws.  The  leading  doctrines  enforced  by  the  repeal¬ 
ers  were,  that,  though  the  acts  regulating  the  import¬ 
ation  of  foreign  breadstuff's  might  be,  and  probably 
were,  beneficial  to  the  large  land-holders,  they  were 
injurious  in  the  long  run  to  the  great  body  of  agricul¬ 
turists  ;  that  the  “  sliding  scale  ”  of  duties  was  the 
main  source  of  the  frequent  and  ruinous  fluctuations 
in  the  market  value  of  breadstuff's ;  that  by  prevent¬ 
ing  the  natural  influx  of  corn  from  other  countries, 
to  meet  the  varying  home  demand,  the  system  en¬ 
hanced  the  price  of  that  article  at  all  times,  and  was 
therefore,  a  burden  upon  all  classes  of  consumers, 
and  especially  the  laboring  poor ;  that  by  protecting 
the  few  at  the  expense  of  the  many,  it  rested  on  an 
unsound  basis  of  political  economy,  and  was  there¬ 
fore  hostile  to  the  best  interests  of  all  branches  of 
industry.  The  principles  upon  which  the  controversy 
was  conducted  on  both  sides,  necessarily  provoked  a 
discussion  and  comparison  of  the  relative  merits  of 
free  commerce  and  restrictive  duties,  irrespective  of 
the  commodities  to  which  these  hostile  systems  were 
applied.  The  real  issue,  therefore,  between  the  con¬ 
tending  parties,  and  especially  during  the  last  three  or 
four  years  of  the  struggle,  was  Free  Trade  versits 
Protection. 

At  the  opening  session  of  parliament,  in  1841  Lord 
John  Russell  gave  notice  of  a  motion  for  a  bill  that 


THE  ANTI-MONOPOLY  LEAGUE.  IO3 

should  abolish  the  complex  and  unpopular  “  sliding 
scale”  and  establish  a  fixed  duty  of  eight  shillings 
per  quarter  on  imported  wheat.  This  great  concession 
to  the  principles  of  free  trade,  though  falling  far  short 
of  the  test  doctrine  of  the  League,  indicated  a  favor¬ 
able  change  of  sentiment  in  an  influential  direction. 
Before  passing  to  the  stirring  events  of  1842,  we 
must  not  omit  to  state,  that  during  the  severe  and 
calamitous  winter  of  1841-2,  the  ladies  of  Manches¬ 
ter  forwarded  a  memorial  to  the  Queen,  bearing  up¬ 
wards  of  100,000  signatures,  to  instruct  her  ministers 
to  brinof  in  a  bill  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering  classes 

o  o 

of  the  country.  They  gave  still  more  substantial 
proofs  of  their  zeal  in  the  cause,  by  holding  a  Free 
Trade  bazaar  in  the  Manchester  theatre,  from  which 
was  netted  for  the  use  of  the  League,  the  coming 
year,  the  splendid  sum  of  ;£  10,000.  Previous  to  the 
meeting  of  parliament,  the  dissenting  ministers  held 
a  four  day’s  convention  to  consider  the  effects  of  the 
Corn  Laws  upon  the  well-being  of  society,  and  de¬ 
puted  a  committee  of  their  body  to  lay  their  views 
before  the  new  Premier.  These  events  showed  that 
the  free-trade  spirit  was  permeating  all  classes  of  the 
community. 

Heretofore,  with  the  exception  of  an  occasional 
skirmish  in  the  Commons,  the  battle  had  been  mainly 
waged  out  of  doors.  At  the  opening  session  of  1842, 
it  was  transferred  to  parliament.  Sir  Robert  Peel 
found  himself  at  the  helm  of  affairs  at  a  period  of 
unexampled  distress.  The  manufacturing  districts 
were  in  a  frightful  condition.  The  poorer  classes  had 
scarcely  been  able  to  subsist  through  the  winter  of 

7 


104 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


1841-2.  Stockport  was  abandoned  by  many  of  its 
operatives,  because  of  their  inability  to  procure  either 
work  or  bread.  Hundreds  in  Paisley  lived  from  week 
to  week  on  charity.  Bolton  was  fed  by  public  bounty. 
Thousands  in  Manchester,  Glasgow,  Birmingham, 
Leeds,  and  other  large  manufacturing  towns,  were 
thrown  out  of  employment,  and  wandered,  idle  and 
hungry,  from  the  scanty  fare  of  the  provinces,  till  they 
crowded  into  the  metropolis,  hoping  to  find  labor  and 
food  in  the  wealthy  capital  of  the  kingdom.  The 
effect  was  to  swell  the  poor  rates  of  London  beyond 
all  former  precedent.  Contributions  were  gathered 
in  the  churches,  private  subscriptions  were  opened, 
and  though  thousands  were  collected,  and  speedily 
dispensed,  they  scarcely  alleviated  the  pressing  neces¬ 
sities  of  the  hour. 

In  March,  the  Premier  introduced  his  tariff  bill. 
Compared  with  the  existing  tariff,  the  new  act  was  a 
moderate  concession  to  the  principles  of  free  trade.  * 
Indeed,  Sir  Robert  more  than  once  declared  during 
the  debates,  that  he  would  not  pledge  himself  to  a 
perpetual  maintenance  of  the  sliding  scale  of  duties, 
nor  advocate  the  abstract  doctrine  of  protection,  nor 
urge  it  in  any  case  for  the  mere  purpose  of  shielding 
home  productions  against  foreign  competition.  The 
discussions  were  protracted  and  exciting  on  all  sides, 
the  free  traders  proposing  numerous  and  important 
amendments.  Mr.  Villiers  made  and  supported  his 
annual  motion  for  total-  and  immediate  repeal,  ably 
seconded  by  Mr.  Cobden.  This  gentleman  was  rec¬ 
ognized  throughout  the  country  as  the  ablest  of  the 
opponents  of  the  waning  doctrine  of  protection. 


THE  ANTI-MONOPOLY  LEAGUE.  105 

The  entire  policy  of  the  act  of  1842  pointed  to  the 
prime  maxim  of  the  League,  of  “  buying  in  the  cheapest, 
and  selling  in  the  dearest  market.”  This,  with  the  occa¬ 
sional  admissions  of  Peel  and  Gladstone,  in  favor  of 
free-trade  theories,  foreshadowed  the  events  of  1846^ 
alarmed  the  protectionists,  and  nearly  led  to  a  disrup¬ 
tion  of  the  Tory  party. 

Though  by  a  combination  of  peculiar  circumstances, 
the  tariff  of  1842  did  not  essentially  advance  the 
cause  of  free  trade,  and  though  the  advocates  of  pro¬ 
tection  took  advantage  of  the  continued  commercial 
embarrassments  to  proclaim  that  free  trade  was  a 
failure,  yet  those  very  circumstances  produced  a  very 
decided  impression  on  reflecting  minds,  that  the  “slid¬ 
ing  scale”  was  a  prolific  source  of  fluctuations  in  the 
prices  of  bread-stuffs  and  ought  to  be  abandoned. 
The  year  1843  was  productive  of  important  events  re¬ 
lating  to  free  trade.  The  League  adjourned  its  reg¬ 
ular  meetings  from  Manchester  to  London,  and  laid 
siege  to  the  metropolis.  Freemason’s  Hall  proving 
too  small,  Mr.  Macready  thewopen  the  doors  of  Dru¬ 
ry  Lane  Theatre.  The  parliamentary  season  brought 
forth  good  fruits.  During  the  debates,  Sir  James 
Graham,  a  member  of  the  cabinet,  stated,  that  the 
soundness  of  the  general  principles  of  the  Corn  Law  re¬ 
pealers,  was  recognized  by  every  man  of  common  un¬ 
derstanding.  His  colleague,  Mr.  Colbourn,  said,  that  the 
abstract  truth  of  their  doctrines  had  never  been  dis¬ 
puted.  Mr.  Gladstone,  also  of  the  ministry,  declared 
that  the  practical  application  of  their  principles  was 
only  a  question  of  time.  There  was  action,  too,  as 
well  as  words.  Mr.  Gladstone’s  act  repealed  the  re- 


io6 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


strictions  on  the  exportation  of  machinery,  and  Lord 
Stanley  introduced  a  bill  to  regulate  the  trade  in 
corn  with  the  Canadas.  Each  of  these  measures 
looked  furtively  towards  free  trade.  The  League  was 
greatly  strengthened  in  parliament  this  year,  by  the 
return  of  the  enthusiastic  and  eloquent  quaker,  John 
Bright,  to  the  House  of  Commons.  He  came  herald¬ 
ed  by  the  admission  of  a  Tory  lord  in  the  House  of 
Peers,  that  Bright  “  had  recently  delivered  at  Dur¬ 
ham,  the  very  best  speech  that  ever  was  heard  in  fa¬ 
vor  of  the  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws”  In  all  subse¬ 
quent  parliamentary  conflicts,  Bright  stood  next  to 
Cobden  as  the  advocate  of  free-trade  doctrines. 

At  the  opening  of  the  session  of  1845,  Peel  de¬ 
lighted  the  Repealers,  surprised  the  Whigs,  and 
alarmed  the  Protectionists,  by  proposing  a  sweeping 
revision  of  the  tariff.  Although  he  permitted  the 
Corn  Laws  to  remain  inviolate  through  the  session, 
it  was  evident,  from  the  tone  of  his  speeches,  and  the 
tendency  of  his  measures,  that  their  hour  was  fast 
approaching.  If  any  doubt  had  remained  of  the 
ultimate  intentions  of  the  Premier,  it  was  dissipated 
by  his  admissions  during  the  debate  on  Villiers’  usual 
motion  for  the  total  and  immediate  repeal  of  the 
Corn  Laws.  The  events  of  1846,  so  far  as  they  re¬ 
late  to  the  subject,  are  too  familiar  to  need  recapitu¬ 
lation  here.  In  June  of  that  year,  after  long  and 
stormy  debates,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Duke  of  Wellington, — the  most  unbending  and 
determined  of  men,  and  without  whose  aid  the  meas¬ 
ure  must  have  failed  in  the  House  of  Peers, — carried 
thorough  parliament  a  total  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws / 


THE  ANTI-MONOPOLY  LEAGUE. 


107 


On  an  evening  near  the  close  of  that  month,  sur¬ 
rounded  by  a  dense  mass  of  the  intellectual  and 
moral  elite  of  the  United  Kingdom, — crowding  not 
the  House  of  Commons  only,  but  every  lobby  and 
all  its  passages, — Sir  Robert,  before  resigning  the 
premiership,  delivered  an  elaborate  speech  in  vindi¬ 
cation  of  the  policy  pursued  while  he  had  adminis¬ 
tered  the  affairs  of  the  government.  We  quote  the 
closing  passage  of  the  report  of  this  speech : 

“  I  shall  surrender  power,  severely  censured  by 
many  honorable  gentlemen  who  from  no  interested 
motives  have  adhered  to  the  principle  of  protection, 
as  important  to  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the 
country.  I  shall  leave  a  name  execrated  by  every 
monopolist,  [Cheers.]  who  from  less  honorable  mo¬ 
tives  maintains  protection,  for  his  own  individual 
benefit.  [Continued  cheering.]  But  it  may  be  that 
I  shall  leave  a  name  sometimes  remembered  with 
expressions  of  good  will  in  those  places  which  are 
the  abodes  of  men  whose  lot  it  is  to  labor,  and  to 
earn  their  daily  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow ; 
a  name  to  be  remembered  with  expressions  of  good 
will  when  they  shall  recreate  their  exhausted  strength 
with  abundant  and  untaxed  food,  the  sweeter  because 
it  is  no  longer  leavened  by  a  sense  of  injustice.  [Long 
and  continued  cheering.]” 

The  struggle  ended,  the  League  resolved  upon  its 
own  dissolution.  The  Repealing  Act  received  the 
royal  assent  on  the  2d  day  of  July,  1846.  On  that 
day  the  League  held  its  final  meeting  at  Manchester. 
George  Wilson,  who  had  presided  over  its  councils 
from  the  beginning,  and  who,  during  the  seven  years 
of  its  existence,  attended  its  meetings  thirteen  hun- 


IOS  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

dred  and  sixty  times,  without  receiving  a  farthing  for 
his  services,  was,  very  appropriately,  called  to  the 
chair  on  this  last  occasion.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Cob- 
den,  the  executive  council  was  requested  to  wind  up 
the  affairs  of  the  League  as  soon  as  possible. 

Having  thus  o-iven  an  outline-sketch  of  this  QTeat 
anti-monopoly  movement,  the  author  hopes  that  the 
lessons  taught  by  the  manner  in  which  it  was  carried 
forward  may  be  understood  and  applied  by  every 
impartial  reader. 


THE  MANY  AND  THE  FEW. 


» 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Question  of  Taxation _ No  Way  of  Making  it  Agreeable - The 

Problem _ Wealth  and  Industry _ The  Evil  of  Indirect  Taxes - The  In¬ 

come  Tax McCulloch’s  Objections A  Fallacy A  Legacy  Duty The 

Astor  Case _ A  Great  Disadvantage _ The  Lords  of  the  Land - Govern¬ 

ment  Bonds. 

The  question  of  taxation  is  becoming  one  of  ex¬ 
ceeding  interest,  as  public  attention,  through  the 
Farmers’  movement,  becomes  more  directed  to  the 
subject.  The  system  of  indirect  taxes  is  invidious  in 
its  operation  and  pernicious  in  its  ultimate  tendency. 
There  is  no  shape  in  which  taxation  can  be  made 
agreeable  to  the  payers.  It  is  a  necessary  evil,  an 
expense  incidental  to  the  organization  of  civilized 
life,  like  house-rent,  or  the  wages  of  domestics,  and 
as  such,  should  be  met  in  the  common-sense  way. 
The  actual  necessary  outlay,  for  the  protection  of 
persons  and  property,  should  be  ascertained,  and  the 
amount  levied  upon  the  community  seeking  that  pro¬ 
tection,  in  a  manner  to  lay  the  burden  proportionably 
upon  each  individual.  All  the  persons  in  a  com¬ 
munity  look,  in  about  an  equal  degree,  to  the  gov¬ 
ernment  for  security  in  person ;  for  protection  in  life 
and  limb  against  all  aggressors  whatsoever.  It  is, 
therefore,  apparently  reasonable,  that  every  member 

109 


I IO 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


should  contribute  something  to  that  purpose.  In 
addition  to  this  object,  a  portion  of  the  public  re¬ 
quire  security  for  property,  and  protection  against 
those  who  would  deprive  them  of  it.  In  this  latter 
object,  a  large  portion  of  the  community  is  not  di¬ 
rectly  interested,  or  only  in  a  very  limited  degree. 
True,  all  are  interested  in  making  the  reward  of  in¬ 
dustry  secure,  but  it  is  not  until  a  man  has  acquired 
property,  that  he  becomes  dependent  upon  the  gov¬ 
ernment  protection  for  security  in  its  enjoyment. 
Hence,  the  holders  of  property  having  a  double 
demand  upon  the  government — for  security  in  prop¬ 
erty  as  well  as  person — are  bound  to  pay  doubly 
for  its  support. 

The  problem  is  to  apportion  and  collect  the  re¬ 
quired  sum  from  each  person  in  the  cheapest  and 
most  prompt  manner,  so  that  the  money  may  be 
applied  as  directly  as  possible  to  the  purposes  for 
which  it  is  collected,  and  that  the  mode  of  its  col¬ 
lection  should  not  interfere,  in  the  least  degree,  with 
the  ordinary  business  of  the  country,  and  the  inter¬ 
change  of  its  products. 

The  system  of  indirect  taxation  is  comparatively 
of  modern  date,  and  it  became  a  favorite  with  gov¬ 
ernments,  from  the  facility  with  which  money  could 
be  raised  thereby,  without  exciting  discontent.  In 
former  ages,  when  taxes  were  demanded  directly  from 
each  citizen,  the  government  was  restricted  in  its  ex¬ 
penditure,  through  the  difficulty  of  collecting  large 
sums  from  the  people,  and  exposed  to  dangerous  re 
volts,  through  the  insolence  and  extortion  of  its 
agents.  Had  the  wants  of  government  been  mod 


THE  MANY  AND  THE  FEW. 


I  I  I 


erate,  and  the  direct  collections  conducted  in  a  judi¬ 
cious  manner,  there  is  but  little  doubt  but  that  much 
of  that  great  inequality  in  condition,  which  now 
exists,  would  have  been  avoided ;  because  wealth 
would  have  been  obliged  to  pay  its  full  share  of  the 
burdens  of  state,  and  industry,  having  the  full  enjoy¬ 
ment  of  its  reward,  would  never  have  been  so  de¬ 
pressed  as,  of  late  years,  it  has  become  under  indirect 
taxes.  The  substitution  of  these,  threw  upon  labor 
the  whole  burden  of  the  government  expenses,  and 
by  making  property  comparatively  exempt,  enabled 
it  to  accumulate  with  greater  rapidity,  in  fewer 
hands,  and  checked  its  acquirement  by  those  whose 
only  capital  was  their  labor,  and  whose  only  income, 
its  wages. 

The  operation  of  indirect  taxes  falls  almost  alto¬ 
gether  on  the  laboring  class,  because  taxes  form  part 
of  the  cost  of  every  necessary  purchased  with  the 
proceeds  of  their  industry.  The  condition  of  Great 
Britain  is  a  remarkable  evidence  of  the  evil  of  indi¬ 
rect  taxes.  The  working  many  have,  for  centuries, 
discharged  the  national  expenditure,  and  the  wealthy 
few  have  not  only  been  comparatively  exempt  from 
taxes,  but,  to  a  considerable  extent,  they  have  been 
the  recipients  of  those  paid  by  others.  Had  a  just 
system  of  taxation  been  in  operation  at  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  Great  Britain  would  never 
have  spent  years  and  much  blood  and  treasure  in 
European  wars,  in  which  the  people  had  no  real  in¬ 
terest.  As  long  as  the  wealthy  classes  were,  however, 
to  derive  all  the  honor  and  profit,  and  the  laboring 
portion  to  pay  all  the  expense,  there  was  no  thought 


I  12 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


of  peace.  j  The  expenses  of  those  wars  vastly  in¬ 
creased  taxation,  which  only  served  to  drain  more 
rapidly  the  wealth  of  the  country,  created  by  the 
many,  into  the  hands  of  the  few.  The  moment 
peace  was  declared,  direct  taxes  on  property  were 
abandoned,  and  indirect  taxes  on  labor  continued,  for 
the  discharge,  not  only  of  the  current  expenditure, 
but  the  enormous  debts  contracted  for  the  wars. 

The  result  has  been,  “vast  mountains  of  wealth 
and  deep  valleys  of  poverty.”  Thirty  years  of  this 
operation  reached  the  “  limits  of  indirect  taxation,” 
and  produced  a  necessity  for  a  return  to  direct  taxes 
upon  property  and  a  remission  of  those  upon  labor. 
The  government,  in  1842,  declared  that  the  limits  of 
indirect  taxation  had  been  reached,  and  that  hence¬ 
forth  revenue  must  be  raised  from  property,  and  the 
income  tax  was  levied.  The  minister  presented  his 
plan  in  five  schedules.  The  first  comprised  the  rent 
of  land,  houses,  tithes,  railways,  canals,  mines,  and 
iron-works ;  the  next,  the  amount  assessed  on  occu¬ 
piers  of  land;  the  third, public  funds  and  stocks;  the 
fourth,  profits  of  trades  and  professions;  the  fifth, 
income  of  public  officers.  The  result  was  highly  sat¬ 
isfactory,  for  it  was  found  absolutely  necessary  to 
release  labor  from  its  burden  and  impose  it  upon 
wealth.  McCulloch,  and  other  distinguished  writers, 
object  to  an  income  tax  because  “it  lessens  the  means 
of  employing  labor.”  This  idea  rests  on  a  fallacy. 
No  man  employs  labor  because  he  has  an  income. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  largest  incomes  have  been 
derived  from  the  most  extensive  employment  of  la¬ 
bor,  or,  in  other  words,  the  most  successful  employ- 


THE  MANY  AND  THE  FEW.  I  1 3 

ment  of  the  wealth  created  by  others.  Many  Eastern 
manufacturers,  of  inordinate  wealth,  acquired  it  by 
employing  numbers  of  hands,  and  paying  them  far 
less  than  the  value  of  their  labor.  If  one  such  per¬ 
son,  who  derives  $50,000  per  annum  from  the  labor 
of  others,  should  be  taxed  $1,500,  would  he  there¬ 
fore  discharge  the  hands  that  earn  him  that  sum? 
It  has  resulted  from  the  manufacturing  indirect  tax 
system  that  a  very  large  class  of  the  English  people 
are  dependent  employers,  while  in  the  United  States, 
as  yet,  the  majority  are  independent  producers,  who 
pay  not  only  the  expense  of  government  in  indirect 
taxes,  but  are  also  made  by  that  system  tributary  to 
manufactures,  to  an  extent  vastly  greater  than  the 
amount  paid  to  government.  This  process  is  rapidly 
producing  great  wealth  on  the  one  side  and  extreme 
poverty  on  the  other. 

The  example  of  England  has  shown,  that  the  ulti- 
timate  tendency  of  indirect  taxes  is  ruin  to  the  many, 
and  that  direct  taxes  must  be  resorted  to  in  the 
end.  Wisdom  would  therefore  dictate  that  the  true 
principle  should  be  adopted  before  universal  distress 
compels  it. 

A  well  regulated  legacy  duty  would,  in  time,  be¬ 
come  the  most  fruitful  source  of  revenue  to  the  eov- 
ernment,  and  one  which,  while  partaking  of  the  nature 
of  an  indirect  tax,  would  in  no  way  interfere  with 
business,  or  the  operations  of  trade.  There  can  be 
no  more  legitimate  object  of  taxation  than  property 
which,  under  the  protection  of  government,  has  gone 
on  to  accumulate  from  year  to  year  in  the  hands  of 
an  individual,  and  passes,  at  his  decease,  into  the 


I  14  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

possession  of  another,  who  has  done  nothing  to  earn 
it,  and  into  whose  hands  it  falls  by  the  death  of  the 
testator  and  the  operation  of  law.  Without  good 
government,  stable  laws,  and  just  administration, 
property  would  be  very  precarious  in  its  descent,  and 
it  is,  therefore,  just  that  that  property  should  pay  its 
proportion  of  the  cost  of  the  government.  We 
select  one,  among  many  eminent  examples.  Mr. 
Astor,  of  New  York,  by  great  enterprise,  persever¬ 
ance,  and  skill,  through  a  long  life,  amassed  a  vast 
fortune,  estimated,  let  us  say,  at  $30,000,000.  That 
fortune  has  been  attained  by  a  foreigner  by  birth, 
under  the  protection  of  the  United  States  laws,  and 
the  action  of  congress  has  more  than  once  been 
solicited  to  shield  him  from  injuries  to  which  his  vast 
and  praisworthy  commercial  operations  have,  from 
time  to  time,  been  exposed.  Yet  under  a  system  of 
indirect  taxes,  Mr.  Astor  contributed  no  more  to  the 
support  of  the  federal  government  than  the  laboring 
man,  whose  utmost  exertions  have  not  enabled  him 
to  accumulate  a  dollar.  When  the  laboring  man  dies, 
he  leaves  nothing,  and  has  no  occasion  for  the  protec¬ 
tion  of  the  law.  When,  in  the  course  of  nature,  the 
vast  Astor  property  descends  to  heirs,  the  operation 
of  law  and  the  protective  influences  of  government 
are  required  to  insure  the  passage  of  the  property  to 
its  proper  destination,  and  to  secure  to  the  heirs  its 
full  enjoyment.  Hence,  the  property  in  its  passage 
should  be  charged  with  a  reasonable  duty  or  tax,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  government,  in  order  to  relieve  the 
shoulders  of  those,  without  property,  from  taxes,  and 
to  remove  obstacles  in  the  way  of  trade.  It  is  also 


THE  MANY  AND  THE  FEW.  I  1 5 

reasonable  that  fortunes  accumulated  in  commerce, 
for  the  protection  of  which  a  navy  is  supported  at 
vast  expense,  should  pay  their  proportion.  A  tax  of 
this  nature  can  be  no  burden  upon  the  recipient  of  a 
legacy.  The  amount  received  is,  in  any  event,  a 
gratuity.  When  a  prize  is  drawn  in  a  lottery,  it  is 
customary  to  deduct  a  per  centage,  usually  a  large 
one,  yet  the  winner  of  a  prize  was  never  known  to 
complain  on  that  account.  Nor  does  that  circum¬ 
stance  retard  the  purchase  of  a  ticket.  When  prop¬ 
erty  passes  to  a  widow,  or  descends  to  children,  it  is 
less  in  the  nature  of  a  prize,  and  the  duty  would  ad¬ 
mit  of  gradation.  A  tax  of  this  nature,  applicable 
alike  to  real  and  personal  property,  would  probably 
produce  $20,000,000  per  annum,  and  be  subject  to 
annual  augmentation.  But  we  caanot  go  into  the 
details  of  the  operation  of  the  several  taxes,  the 
space  to  which  the  author  is  limited  not  warranting 
discussion  upon  a  subject  so  prolific. 

Indirect  taxes  are  a  wasteful  and  injurious  mode  of 
levying  an  income  tax,  because  they  tax  every  article 
consumed  by  persons  and  families,  and  by  so  doing 
diminish  incomes  ;  that  is  to  say,  they  make  every  ar¬ 
ticle  bought,  dearer  than  it  otherwise  would  be.  By 
this  operation,  they  compel  each  person  to  pay  about 
four  times  as  much  as  the  government  gets.  The 
great  disadvantage  of  indirect  taxation,  is  not  so 
much  the  amount  actually  paid  by  the  consumers  of 
taxed  goods,  great  though  it  be,  as  the  diminution  it 
occasions  to  their  revenue,  by  depressing  prices.  In 
this  country  the  leading  productions  are  agricultural, 
and  they  far  exceed  the  wants  of  the  people  of  the 


I  1 6  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

United  States.  Whatever  tends,  therefore,  to  circum¬ 
scribe  the  foreign  market,  contributes  to  glut  those 
at  home,  and  thus  prices  are  depressed.  The  tenden¬ 
cies  of  the  whole  world  are  to  freedom  of  intercourse, 
through  the  growing  convictions  of  the  public  mind  ; 
that  by  such  means  alone  can  the  prosperity  of  a 
whole  people  be  promoted. 

In  conclusion,  it  must  be  clear  to  every  Granger, 
that  the  property  of  a  country  must  contribute  to 
the  support  of  its  government.  You  have  declared, 
as  a  fundamental  article  of  your  political  creed,  that 
contributions  for  that  object  should  be  levied  upon 
all  property  of  every  kind,  equally,  and  uniformly. 
Consider  to  what  result  an  exception  to  this  rule 
would  lead.  Suppose  government  enact  a  law  ex¬ 
empting  all  property  in  land  and  houses  from  taxa¬ 
tion,  and  it  comes  to  pass  that  one-fourth  of  the  in¬ 
habitants  own  all  the  land  and  houses  that  the 
country  contains.  Here  we  have  a  select  society  of 
nabobs,  the  absolute  lords  of  the  land,  and  the  appur¬ 
tenances  thereof,  supported  in  their  feudal  grandeur 
by  a  government  which  subsists  upon  the  labor  and 
earnings  of  a  population  which  its  policy  condemns 
to  perpetual  slavery.  Perhaps  the  professional  poli¬ 
ticians,  with  their  “perfected  organization,”  may  tell 
the  Granger  how  to  cypher  out  the  exact  quantity  of 
Democratic  equality  there  would  be  in  such  an  ex¬ 
emplification  of  the  favorite  policy  of  the  professional 
politicians  and  their  pet  “  perfected  organization.” 
Then  carry  the  illustration  to  the  property  that  con¬ 
sists  in  government  bonds.  If  all  the  property  owned 
by  three-fourths  of  the  inhabitants  be  represented  by 


THE  MANY  AND  THE  FEW.  I  I  7 

$2,000,  and  all  the  property  owned  by  the  other  one- 
fourth  consisting  in  government  bonds  be  represent¬ 
ed  by  the  same  amount,  the  policy  of  the  professional 
politicians  of  exempting  the  property  of  the  latter 
from  sharing  equally  with  that  of  the  former  in  the 
burden  of  government  shall  seize  the  whole  estates 
of  the  three-fourths,  and  turn  them  over  to  the  one- 
fourth,  to  pay  a  debt  which  justice  and  equity  can 
only  regard  as  a  burden  upon  all  alike,  to  be  shared 
equally  by  all.  This  is  the  unavoidable  result  of  the 
declaration  made  by  the  “  perfected  organization  ”  of 
the  professional  politicians,  that  property  consisting 
in  government  bonds  should  be  made  an  exception  to 
the  rule  ;  that  the  burdens  of  goverment  should  be 
borne  by  property  of  every  kind  equally  and  uniform¬ 
ly  ;  that  there  should  be  no  discriminations  against, 
the  many  and  in  favor  of  the  few. 

Equally  pernicious  to  the  country  at  large  is  that 
system  of  subsidies  and  grants,  whether  of  lands 
money,  or  privileges,  by  which  are  created  and  fos¬ 
tered  into  overgrown  proportions  those  gigantic 
monopolies,  which  in  their  turn  become  powerful 
enough  to  corrupt  and  rule  the  government.  Let  us 
have  no  more  of  it,  but  let  the  people’s  land  be  for 
the  people’s  use — the  people’s  money  for  the  people’s 
service.  More  dangerous  than  all,  are  the  centraliz¬ 
ing  tendencies  of  the  times.  We  can  endure,  if  we 
must,  unequal  tariffs  and  oppressive  taxation ;  we 
can  bear  a  considerable  amount  of  corruption ;  but 
these  strides  toward  imperialism,  if  not  arrested,  may 
end  in  our  ruin.  Are  the  Grangers  aware  how  the* 
overshadowing  power  and  presence  of  a  great  central 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


1 18 

government  is  absorbing  into  itself  the  rights  of 
states,  the  freedom  of  municipalities,  and  the  individ¬ 
ualities  of  citizens  ?  Once  the  states  chartered  their 
own  banking  institutions  ;  now  the  government  indi¬ 
rectly  taxes  them  out  of  existence,  and  puts  in  their 
places  agencies  of  its  own.  It  seizes  the  sword  and 
the  purse  of  the  nation.  We  hear  of  the  design  of 
making  the  government  general  educator,  taking  this 
office  from  the  state  and  school  districts  ;  and  again, 
of  taking  the  telegraphs  and,  perhaps,  the  expresses 
under  its  charge,  giving  its  officers  a  perfect  system 
of  espionage  over  the  business  and  social  life  of  the 
people.  The  party  in  power  will  never  arrest  these 
tendencies. 

Add  to  these,  and  other  abuses,  the  artificial  and 
oppressive  system  of  raising  the  revenue,  under 
which  the  burdens  are  unequally  and  unjustly  dis¬ 
tributed,  the  rich  favored  at  the  expense  of  the  poor, 
some  pursuits  ruined  that  others  may  reap  golden 
harvests.  If  we  must  have  a  tariff,  let  it  be  for  reve¬ 
nue  and  not  for  protection,  and  as  little  of  it  as  pos¬ 
sible  at  that — keeping  always  in  view  the  greatest 
good  to  the  greatest  number. 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES. 


1 19 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

.  t  ,  / 

EXTRACTS  FROM  ESSAYS  AND  ADDRESSES,  ACCEPTED  BY  THE  PATRONS 

OF  HUSBANDRY.. 

The  Primary  Cause  of  “High  Rates.” - Railway  Rates _ The  Real  Ex» 

tortion _ In  our  own  House _ The  Middlemen - The  Little  Bull  Law _ 

Our  Corporations _ A  Scare _ The  Infant  Pig _ King  Caucus _ Blades 

of  Grass _ Old  Parties  or  New. 

THE  PRIMARY  CAUSE. 

*  *  *  The  primary  reason  for  high  freights 

is  found  in  an  high  tariff  upon  railroad  iron.  This 
commodity,  over  which  every  pound  of  grain  in  the 
Northwest  rolls  to  market,  is  bought  at  thirty-seven 
per  cent,  greater  price  than  it  could  be  purchased 
were  it  not  for  the  parental  protection  which  our  pa¬ 
ternal  government  affords  by  means  of  a  high  tariff 
to  the  ironmongers  of  Pennsylvania  and  other  states 
of  this  glorious  union.  If  any  one  industry  is  pro¬ 
tected  by  a  tariff,  it  is  so  protected  at  the  expense  of 
all  other  industries.  But  who  would  send  his  grain  to 
market  over  British  rails  and  let  our  own  magnifi¬ 
cent  mountains  of  iron  rest  and  rust  in  their  primeval 
uselessness  ?  Who  can  tolerate  the  thought  of  per¬ 
mitting  cheap  labor  in  England  to  make  railroad  iron 
and  sell  it  in  America  at  such  degraded  figures  as  to 

O  o 


I  2  I 


122 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


crush  out,  ruin,  and  disgrace  such  poor  pig-iron  pa¬ 
triots  as  Simon  Cameron,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Eber 
Ward,  of  Michigan  ? 

It  never  occurs  to  the  noodles  who  ask  these  ques¬ 
tions  that  if  England  makes  all  the  railroad  iron  the 
whole  world  uses,  England  will  raise  much  less  bread- 
stuffs  at  home,  and  buy  much  more  bread  and  beef 
and  pork  abroad.  The  high  tariff  which  shuts  out 
English  iron  shuts  out  at  the  same  time  a  nation  of 
customers  for  American  grain  and  meat.  It  reduces 
the  number  of  our  consumers  in  England,  and  adds 
to  the  number  of  our  producers,  by  means  of  farmer 
emigration  from  England.  This  is  the  blessing  of 
protection  to  the  Pennsylvania  pig-iron  patriots,  and 
the  primary  cause  of  the  low  prices  of  farm  products 
and  the  high  prices  of  carrying  them  to  market  by 
rail. 

Cameron,  Ward,  and  their  associates  in  iron-mak¬ 
ing,  said 

“  Iron  is  too  plenty.  That  makes  it  too  cheap.  We 
must  make  a  scarcity  of  iron :  the  prices  will  then  go 
up,  and  we  will  prosper.” 

So,  we  got  the  high  tariff,  and  they  have  prospered, 
while  the  farmers,  and  nearly  everybody  else,  save 
ironmongers,  fail  to  prosper.  In  the  meantime,  the 
ironmongers  and  their  hired  attorneys  forget  Credit 
Mobilier  stock  long  enough  to  cry — 

“  Stop  thief!  Stop  thief!” 

RAILWAY  RATES. 

In  1872,  Hon.  Sam.  Shellabarger,  of 


*  *  *  * 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES. 


123 


Ohio,  introduced  a  bill  in  Congress  to  prohibit  any 
railway  carrying  passengers,  freight,  etc .,en  route  from 
one  State  to  another,  making  any  discrimination  in 
rates  because  of  distance  ;  the  rates  to  be  uniform  as 
to  mileage.  Mr.  Shellabarger  announced  the  concep¬ 
tion  of  his  bill  in  a  long  letter  to  a  Boston  paper,  in 
which  he  made  many  learned  references  to  legal  de¬ 
cisions,  but  failed  to  touch  the  question,  whether  Con¬ 
gress  has  the  authority  to  prescribe  to  railways  or  other 
common  carriers  the  rate  of  compensation  they  may 
charge  for  transportation.  The  gentleman  made  the 
following  points : 

1.  That  the  rate  charged  by  railroads  for  the  trans¬ 
portation  of  freight  amounts,  in  many  cases,  to  extor¬ 
tion,  and  that,  while  food  is  rotting  at  one  end  of  a 
railroad,  there  are  persons  very  hungry  at  the  other 
end. 

2.  That  under  the  power  to  regulate  commerce, 
Congress  has  enacted  various  regulations  as  to  the 
construction  of  vessels;  the  number  of  passengers 
each  may  carry;  where  the  freight  and  baggage  must 
be  stowed  ;  the  quantity  and  kinds  of  food  to  be  giv¬ 
en  passengers  and  crew,  and  how  it  shall  be  cooked  ; 
rules  as  to  cleanliness,  and  to  protect  passengers  from 
outrage  and  wrong ;  and  that  Congress  has,  in  like 
manner,  provided  similar  regulations  for  commerce 
on  steam  and  other  vessels  en^a^ed  in  the  inland  trade. 

3.  That  the  power  of  Congress  to  regulate  com¬ 
merce  among  the  several  states  is  precisely  the  same 
as  it  is  to  regulate  foreign  commerce. 

4.  That  railroads,  though  unknown  at  the  time  of 
the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  stand  in  the  respect 
of  commerce  as  do  vessels  upon  the  rivers,  lakes,  and 
ocean. 


124 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


5.  That  all  state  laws  and  charters  of  railroad  and 
other  corporations,  which  operate  as  regulations  of 
commerce  among  the  several  states,  are  subject  to  the 
paramount  power  of  Congress  to  alter  them  whenev¬ 
er  Congress  shall  decide  to  do  so  in  aid  and  regulation 
of  commerce. 

6.  That  the  only  cases  where  a  state  has  power  to 
regulate  commerce  not  subordinate  to  the  power  of 
Congress  is  in  that  commerce  which  is  conducted 
wholly  within  the  limits  of  such  state,  and  is,  there¬ 
fore,  neither  foreign  commerce  nor  commerce  among 
the  states. 

7.  That  in  the  absence  of  any  exercise  of  its  con¬ 
stitutional  authority  by  Congress,  the  regulations  of 
the  several  states  would  be  valid,  but  all  such  regula¬ 
tions  by  states  would  lapse  when  Congress  should  act 
in  the  matter. 

We  can  understand,  that  railways  though  chartered 
by  states,  hold  their  charters  subject  to  all  the  powers 
given  to  Congress  by  the  Constitution  ;  and  while  it 
is  clear  that  Congress  can  regulate  commerce  among 
the  states,  just  as  it  can  upon  the  ocean,  that  does 
not  settle  the  question  whether  Congress  can  fix  the 
rates  of  transportation  in  either  case. 

This  question  has  provoked  action  on  the  part  of 
several  state  legislatures.  They  have  attempted  to 
enact  a  tariff  of  rates  for  the  transportation  of  pas¬ 
sengers  and  freights,  and  to  prohibit  any  discrimina¬ 
tion  in  the  rates  upon  “through”  and  “  way”  freights. 
These  attempts  have  been  made  under  the  general 
police  power  of  the  state,  or  under  some  assumed  au¬ 
thority  to  regulate  commerce  within  the  state.  It  is 
inoperative,  as  far  as  it  applies  to  “  through  ”  freights, 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 25 

because  of  the  easy  means  of  evading  it,  so  that  state 
M  regulation  ”  is  at  best  very  feeble.  So  generally  was 
this  admitted,  that  the  country  turned  to  Congress 
for  the  exercise  of  this  authority,  if  it  exist  at  all. 
The  failure  of  the  gentleman  from  Ohio  to  give  any 
information  on  this  vital  point  was,  and  will  continue 
to  be,  a  disappointment  to  those  who  have  faith  that 
an  act  of  Congress  can  cure  any  trouble,  from  high 
and  low  treason  to  dyspepsia. 

The  calamity  of  high  rates  of  transportation  is  a 
result  of  that  vicious  system  of  taxation,  under  which 
the  whole  country  suffers.  Congress  has  placed  a 
tariff  on  railroad  iron  of  $14  per  ton.  A  mile  of 
track  contains  95  tons  of  rails,  5  kegs  of  spikes  and 
55  chairs.  The  tariff  on  a  mile  of  road  is  nearly 
$1,400.  The  duty  on  steel  rail  is  $24.  The  additional 
cost  of  every  mile  of  road  laid  by  steel  is  nearly  $24. 
Add  to  this,  duty  on  screws,  42  per  cent. ;  steel,  48  ; 
iron,  40;  screws,  55;  glass,  55 — all  entering  into  the 
construction  of  railways — and  we  have  a  little  light 
upon  “  high  rates.”  There  is  not  a  rail,  a  spike,  a 
casting  of  any  kind,  a  tool  or  piece  of  machinery,  a 
locomotive,  or  a  wheel  or  a  tire,  or  any  other  article 
composed  wholly  or  in  part  of  iron  and  steel,  which 
has  not  been  taxed,  during  the  last  ten  years,  from  50 
to  90  per  cent.  During  that  time  every  mile  of  rail¬ 
road  in  the  United  States  has  been  laid  or  relaid. 

.  * 

The  cost  of  construction  and  of  maintenance  has  been 
substantially  doubled,  and  the  same  tax  has  followed 
its  rolling  stock,  from  the  lumber  of  its  platform  cars 
to  the  paint,  varnish,  and  glass  of  its  passenger 
coaches.  The  growers  of  corn  and  of  wheat  have 


126 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


been  and  are  now  paying  that  tax.  They  are  paying  it, 
as  Mr.  Shellabarger  states,  by  sending  five  bushels  of 
corn  to  pay  the  freight  of  one  from  Iowa  to  New  York. 
To  whom  is  it  paid?  The  monopolists  of  the  East, 
of  course.  The  railways  have  not  been  taxed  one 
dollar  that  they  have  not  and  do  not  collect  with 
compound  interest  from  you  who  raise  corn  to  send 
to  market.  Prominent  among  the  glaring  offences  of 
which  railway  companies  have  been  guilty,  is  the 
practice  of  issuing  “  watered  stock,”  and  piling  up 
fictitious  indebtedness.  They  are  all  alike  grasping 
and  soulless.  The  element  of  charity  does  not  enter 
into  their  construction  or  composition.  It  was  not 
granted  to  them  in  their  charters,  and  since  the  abo¬ 
lition  of  the  free-pass  system,  they  have  no  way  of 
obtaining  it  from  the  Board  of  Missions. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  power  to  regulate  the  rates  of 
freights  is  vested  in  Congress,  will  the  owners  of  the 
65,000  miles  of  railway  in  the  United  States  submit 
to  its  exercise  without  a  struggle  ?  And  in  that 
struggle  would  not  the  superior  intelligence,  sagacity, 
and  ready  means  of  the  railway  managers,  secure  a 
controlling  majority  of  both  Houses,  as  subservient 
as  any  other  equally  numerous  body  of  employed 
men  in  their  service  ?  The  answer  comes  up  in  clear 
tones  from  Farmers’  organizations  in  all  parts  of  the 
country. 

Providing  increased  facilities  for  transportation  is 
the  better  plan  for  Congress  to  pursue,  if  it  would 
eive  relief.  The  St.  Lawrence  river  is  offered  as  an 
easy  and  cheap  exit  to  market.  But  if  we  must  have 
railways,  then,  as  an  extreme  measure  of  doubtfui 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES. 


127 


propriety,  but  far  better  than  an  attempt  to  fix  rail¬ 
way  charges  by  law,  let  Congress  construct  a  double¬ 
track  trunk  railway  for  the  transportation  of  freight 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi  or  Missouri. 
Let  this  line  be  free  to  any  person  or  corporation  to 
run  trains  thereon  under  suitable  regulations, — the 
charges  for  freight  not  to  exceed  a  certain  rate.  Con- 
gress  can  do  what  it  pleases  with  its  own ;  but  when 
it  undertakes  to  regulate  the  price  of  moving  a  bushel 
of  corn,  it  asserts  an  authority  to  fix  the  price  at 
which  corn  shall  be  sold,  the  price  at  which  a  man 
shall  labor  per  day,  and,  under  the  guise  of  parental 
care,  it  becomes  at  once  an  intolerable  despotism 
and  nuisance.  We  have  not  enough  railways  to  the 
seaboard.  Let  us  encourage  their  increase  by  a  re¬ 
peal  of  every  tax  that  swells  the  cost  of  their  con¬ 
struction.  Let  us  even  build  new  railways ;  but  let 
Congress  be  careful  that,  in  attempting  to  cure  the 
patient,  it  does  not  administer  poison. 

THE  REAL  EXTORTION. 

“  There  is  between  Boston  and  Chicago  ‘  watered 
stock’  enough  to  build  and  equip  a  double-track  rail¬ 
road  with  steel  rails  the  whole  distance.  The  origin 
of  this  ‘watered  stock’  is  that  the  managers  of  these 
roads  have  charged  the  public  more  than  they  were 
legally  authorized  to  do,  have  invested  the  money 
thus  illegally  taken,  and  tax  the  people  on  the  amount 
forever.” 

This  is  the  language  of  Mr.  Josiah  Ouincy  in  a 
recent  communication  to  a  Boston  paper.  If  there 
be  any  freight  philanthropists  within  hearing  of  this 


128 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


Granger,  let  them  tell  us  how  many  double-track 
steel  railways  would  the  “watered  stock”  of  Illinois 
railway  companies  build  ?  Let  them  tell  us  why  it 
would  not  be  better  for  railway  philanthropists,  be¬ 
fore  claiming  the  right  to  tax  us  forever  on  this  sham 
capital,  to  make  it  real  capital  by  investing  it  in  such 
double-track  steel  railways  ? 

This  assumption  of  a  pretended  right  to  tax  us 
forever  on  capital  which  has  never  been  invested  in 
railways  goes  to  the  very  core  of  the  monopoly 
question,  and  is  about  all  there  is  of  it,  as  far  as  rail¬ 
way  corporations  are  concerned  ;  but  equity  and  jus¬ 
tice  have  claims  as  well.  Equity  says  that  no  railway 
company  has  the  shadow  of  a  right  to  include  in  the 
basis  of  its  financial  reckoning  one  single  dollar  of 
“watered  stock.”  Justice  between  man  and  man  de¬ 
mands  that  “every  drop  of  water  should  be  squeezed 
out  of  the  stock  of  every  railway  company.”  There 
would  then  be  no  difficulty  with  economical  manage¬ 
ment,  in  making  every  railway  pay  handsome  divi¬ 
dends  upon  greatly  reduced  rates  of  tariff. 

This,  then,  is  the  real  extortion  which  railway  com¬ 
panies  practice  in  taxing  the  public  to  pay  dividends 
on  capital  that  does  not  exist,  and  which  was  never 
invested  in  them.  The  movement  demanding  eman¬ 
cipation  from  the  slave-power  of  monopoly  proposes 
to  stop  this  extortion  of  tribute  from  commerce  to 
pay  profits  on  certified  lies.  *  *  * 

IN  OUR  OWN  HOUSE. 

The  object  of  the  “  Farmers’  Movement”  is  the 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 29 

practical  solution  of  the  great  economic  problem.  If 
political  parties  make  themselves  our  enemies  by  up¬ 
holding  traditions  rather  than  principles,  and  give  us 
battle,  we  shall  meet  them  with  the  weapons  of  rea¬ 
son  and  right,  and  send  prejudice  and  party  rancor 
far  to  the  rear.  We  shall  always  welcome  recruits 
and  converts  to  the  Grange,  never  turning  a  deaf  ear 
to  the  claims  of  friend  or  foe,  however  much  we  may 
have  differed  in  times  past.  Just  now,  overtures  are 
being  made  to  us  by  the  party  in  power,  an  organiza¬ 
tion  that  many  of  us  have  followed  to  victory  through 
many  a  hard-fought  campaign.  I  trust,  sir  it  will 
not  be  out  of  place  to  briefly  consider  the  argument 
recently  addressed  to  the  State  Grange,  and  which  is 
thus  nakedly  stated : 

“We  have  paid  your  debt;  we  have  lightened  your 
taxes,  and  reduced  the  expenses  of  the  government. 
All  this  we  can  prove  to  you  from  the  official  records.” 

It  is  not  true  that  they  have  performed  these  finan¬ 
cial  prodigies.  Every  candid  man  will  admit  that  the 
administration  and  its  advisers  are  entitled  to  no  es¬ 
pecial  credit  for  the  reduction  of  the  debt,  the  reduc¬ 
tion  of  taxation,  or  any  thing  else  of  which  they 
may  boast  in  connection  with  the  finances,  unless 
they  can  show  that  they  have  recommended  wise 
measures  of  finance  ;  or  that  they  have  exhibited  pe¬ 
culiar  efficiency,  economy,  and  honesty,  or  at  least  one 
of  these,  in  collecting  the  revenues.  They  originated 
the  funding  scheme,  which  was  a  sad  failure.  They  orig¬ 
inated  what  is  known  as  the  “  Re-distribution  Act,”  the 
only  effect  of  which  has  been  to  extend  the  national 


130  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

bank  monopoly,  and  to  increase  the  burdens  of  the 
tax-payers  for  the  benefit  of  that  monopoly.  They 
have  heartily  sustained  the  policy,  which  they  cannot 
be  said  to  have  originated,  of  removing  those  taxes 
which  were  least  burdensome,  and  retaining  those 
which  were  most  oppressive.  These  are  the  only 
financial  measures  originated  or  advocated  by  “  our 
friends”  which  are  now  in  force.  Is  any  one  of  them 
a  measure  of  which  to  be  proud,  or  on  account  of 
which  they  can  justly  claim  credit  for  the  reduction 
of  the  debt?  They  have  tried  to  spend  five  millions, 
more  or  less,  for  part  of  a  tropical  island.  Mr.  Bout- 
well  tried  hard  to  induce  Congress  to  adopt  a  ship- 
bounty  policy,  to  cost  the  country  fifty  millions,  if 
carried  out.  Mr.  Cresswell  tried  to  buy  the  telegraph 
lines  of  the  country  for  not  more  than  seventy-five 
millions, — that  is,  not  more  than  twice  their  value, 
with  a  proviso  that  he  should  manage  them,  with 
every  prospect  of  an  annual  loss  of  from  three  to 
five  millions.  With  the  apparent  view  to  consum¬ 
mating  all  these  things,  the  president,  and  nearly  all 
of  his  advisers,  opposed  from  the  first  any  reduction 
of  taxation,  and  continued  their  opposition  until 
forced  to  yield  to  the  popular  demand  for  relief. 
There  is  nothing  in  all  this  to  entitle  the  administra¬ 
tion  to  credit  for  reducing  the  debt  and  lightening 
the  burden  of  taxation. 

In  regard  to  collecting  the  revenue,  the  civil-service 
commission  reported  that  one-fourth  of  the  revenue 
is  lost  in  the  collection.  The  president,  who  ap¬ 
pointed  the  commission,  endorsed  the  report.  *  *  * 

It  is  the  course  of  practical  wisdom  for  anti' 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 3 1 

monopolists,  and  friends  of  reform  everywhere,  to 
present  candidates  of  their  own,  inscribing  “Liberty 
and  equality  ”  on  their  banner,  and  resolving  to  fight 
it  out  alone,  against  the  principles  and  powers  of 
monopoly  on  that  line.  Determined  to  pursue  this 
course,  we  will  not  want  for  recruits.  They  will  come 
to  us  by  the  hundreds  and  the  thousands.  And  we 
will  carry  the  day.  If  there  be  no  splicing  of  tickets 
here  in  Iowa,  and  we  decline  to  loan  the  enemy  our 
strength,  our  victory  will  be  the  first  effective  triumph 
in  the  coming  revolution.  Founded  upon  the  basis 
of  free  principles,  that  revolution  is  destined  to  bring 
to  an  end,  the  monstrous  system  of  spoliation,  extor¬ 
tion,  and  robbery  that  is  now  crushing  out  the  life  of 
the  people. 

Let  us  beware  of  treason  in  disguise,  and  cheap 
frauds.  As  campaigns  approach,  the  enemy  will  en¬ 
deavor  to  beg,  borrow,  or  steal  our  strength.  Already, 
office-holders,  ex-office-holders,  and  office-seekers 
seek  to  affiliate  with  us,  for  the  express  purpose  of 
steering  our  movement  into  the  picket  lines  of  the 
Republican  party.  We  have  the  evidence  here  at 
home.  The  monopolist  party,  upon  the  monopoly 
principle,  have  fixed  the  wires  for  the  re-election  of  a 
monopolist  governor.  In  order  to  cajole  voters  into 
supporting  an  avowed  monopolist  for  the  highest 
office,  they  propose  to  nominate  a  “  Granger  ”  for  the 
second  place.  Thus  they  hope  to  humbug  farmers 
into  voting  with  the  monopoly  party,  and  crush  any 
plan  we  may  have  in  view  of  presenting  a  ticket  of 
our  own.  If  any  Granger  consents  to  serve  the 
enemy  in  this  way,  he  is  a  traitor  both  to  the  order 
and  the  cause. 


132 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


As  I  understand  the  Grangers  creed,  we  are 
opposed  to  the  salary  steal,  and  steals  of  all  kinds, 
railroad  extortion,  corporation  monopolies  of  all 
kinds.  We  favor  free  trade  and  equal  rights  to  all, 
and  special  privileges  to  none.  This  compels  us  to 
withdraw  all  favor  from  the  class  of  pestilent  dema¬ 
gogues,  known  as  professional  politicians,  and  from 
all  party  organizations,  which  professional  politicians 
manipulate,  control  and  “  lead.”  By  “  professional 
politician  ”  is  meant  the  man  who  regards  party  suc¬ 
cess  as  the  end  to  be  worked  for,  instead  of  the  step¬ 
ping-stone  to  an  end  beyond,  consisting  in  the  con¬ 
formity  of  the  laws  and  their  administration  to 
certain  definite  principles  of  right ;  otherwise,  the 
man  who  believes  in  party  government,  instead  of 
a  government  of  law.  The  first  is  synonymous  with 
the  maxim  so  rigidly  adhered  to  by  the  late  Demo¬ 
cratic  party,  and  faithfully  practiced  at  Washington, 
and  which  claims  that  “  to  the  victors  belong  the 
spoils.”  The  latter  asserts  that  there  should  be  no 
“spoils”  subject  to  anybody’s  claims,  and  that  the 
man  who  desires  party  success  for  the  spoils,  or  in 
order  to  use  the  functions  of  government  for  any 
purpose  of  individual  or  party  aggrandizement,  is  a 
miscreant,  a  scoundrel,  a  thief,  and  a  professional 
politician. 

The  only  way  to  put  down  professional  politicians 
is  to  put  down  political  organizations  that  feed  and 
nourish  the  vermin.  There  is  no  other  pratical  way, 
and  this  is  part  of  the  work  before  us.  *  *  *  * 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES. 


133 


THE  “  MIDDLERS  ” 

Granges,  in  some  localities,  have  arranged  to  buy 
their  agricultural  machinery,  through  their  own  agents, 
directly  fro nv the  manufacturers.  The  farmers  of  Iowa 
claim  to  have  saved  thousands  of  dollars  in  this  way. 
They  have  an  indisputable  right  to  pursue  this  course. 
The  movement  is  a  righteous  and  thoroughly  effec¬ 
tive  protest  against  any  unjust  arrangement  which 
may  exist,  by  which  agents,  or  “  Middle  Men,”  enjoy 
a  monopoly  of  the  sale  of  such  machinery. 

Other  Granges  have  made  arrangements  to  buy 
their  supplies  of  various  kinds — dry  goods,  groceries, 
etc.,  either  of  wholesale  dealers  direct,  or  retailers 
who  offer  the  best  terms.  They  have  the  same  right 
to  do  this,  too,  as  to  buy  machinery  at  first  hands. 
This  movement  may  have  its  temporary  advantage, 
but  it  is  not  in  the  nature  of  a  protest  against  a 
monopoly  wrong,  as  is  the  other.  The  manufacture 
and  sale  of  an  agricultural  machine,  say  a  reaper  or 
mower,  may  be  established  and  maintained  as  a 
monopoly  for  some  time,  under  the  protection  of  a 
patent,  or  because  a  large  amount  of  capital  is  nec¬ 
essary  to  economical  production.  There  is  no  patent, 
however,  thank  the  Lord,  on  the  business  of  buying 
and  selling  goods,  and  there  are  hundreds  of  thou¬ 
sands  who  have  sufficient  capital  to  enable  them  to 
engage  in  the  business.  This  business  cannot  be 
monopolized,  therefore,  any  more  than  agriculture. 
We  take  it  that  the  co-operative  store  movement 
among  our  farmers,  is  hardly  likely  to  prove  very 
profitable,  and  it  will  scarcely  become  a  substitute 
for  the  present  mercantile  machinery. 


134 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


This  movement  originated  in  a  realization  of  the 
fact,  that  a  great  difference  exists  between  the  whole¬ 
sale  and  retail  prices  of  many  articles.  But  it  does 
not  follow  that  retail  merchants  enjoy  a  monopoly, 
and  grow  rich  upon  its  advantages.  The  difference 
between  the  wholesale  and  retail  prices  of  a  given 
article  is  not  all  profit.  After  deducting  expense  and 
loss,  only  the  residue  is  profit.  So  also,  the  dif¬ 
ference  in  manufacturers’  and  wholesale  dealers’ 
prices  is  part  profit  and  part  loss.  Finally,  the  differ¬ 
ence  between  the  actual  cost  of  production  and  the 
manufacturers’  prices  is  part  profit  and  part  loss. 
There  is  a  series  of  expenses  between  the  first  cost 
of  a  product  and  its  consumption,  as  well  as  losses  of 
various  kinds  which  must  be  borne  by  consumers  in 
the  long  run,  or  production  will  cease.  *  *  * 

THE  “  LITTLE  BULL  LAW  !” 

I 

We  are  told  by  one  of  the  fathers,  that  the  good 
people  of  Illinois  became  suddenly  excited  some  thirty 
years  ago,  in  regard  to  the  improvement  of  a  certain 
breed  of  stock.  While  the  object  met  with  general 
favor,  there  was  no  one  to  suggest  a  definite  line  of 
policy  for  its  accomplishment.  As  usual  however,  the 
old  fogy  nose  pointed  straight  for  papa  government. 
Mr.  Fogy  finally  convinced  himself  that  some  kind  of 
legislative  “  protection  ”  was  necessary.  When  the 
legislature  convened,  the  owners  of  the  few  Bashan 
bulls  then  in  the  state,  taking  advantage  of  public  sen¬ 
timent,  applied  for  the  passage  of  a  law  prohibiting 
native,  or  little  bulls,  from  running  at  large.  Friends 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 35 

of  the  big  bulls  thronged  the  lobbies,  and  importuned 
members  at  every  corner.  When  one  was  found  ig¬ 
norant  of  big  bulls,  or  who  doubted  the  popularity 
of  the  measure,  he  was  persuaded  that  any  opposition 
that  might  be  raised  at  first  by  “the  little  bull  party” 
would  soon  blow  over  and  be  forgotten,  and  that  in 
the  end'  it  would  prove  quite  popular  with  the  whole 
people.  These  Solons  finally  yielded,  and  taking  the 
subject  by  the  horns,  enacted  what  was  known  as“  The 
Little  Bull  Law.”  History  goes  on  to  say,  that  they 
made  a  bull  of  it,  for  history  likes  its  joke,  as  well  as 
the  rest  of  us 

The  news  of  its  passage  traveled  on  the  wings  of 
the  wind,  and  all  the  little  bulls  on  the  prairie  set  up 
a  bully  roar.  The  law  was  everywhere  denounced  as 
unjust,  anti-democratic,  and  dangerous  to  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  a  free  people — to  say  nothing  of  the 
little  bulls !  Such  was  the  storm  of  indignation  that 
came  up  from  every  part  of  the  state,  that  the  terri¬ 
fied  representatives  made  haste  to  appease  the  wrath 
of  their  outraged  constituents,  by  repealing  the  ob¬ 
noxious  law.  But  this  was  not  sufficient  to  restore 
the  friends  and  advocates  of  the  measure  to  public 
favor.  Instead  of  the  opposition  blowing  over  and  be¬ 
ing  forgotten,  it  continued  to  deepen  and  to  widen, 
until  it  proved  to  be  the  unpardonable  sin,  never  to 
be  forgotten  or  forgiven.  This  law  killed  more  would- 
be  great  men  in  this  state  than  any  and  all  others 
ever  enacted  by  the  legislature ;  with  a  single  excep¬ 
tion,  no  man  who  advocated  or  voted  for  it,  or  dodged 
the  question,  was  ever  elected  to  the  legislature  or 
any  office  of  honor,  profit  or  trust.  Only  those  who 

9 


136 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


opposed  the  measure,  by  argument  or  vote,  ever  met 
with  favor  at  the  hands  of  the  public. 

We  have  heard  something  about  “retrenchment 
and  reform  in  the  public  service,”  a  deal  about  “Chris¬ 
tian  statesmen  and  patriotic  capitalists,”  yet  the  peo¬ 
ple  are  coming  to  believe  that  the  spirit  of  aristae* 
racy  is  as  rampant  now  as  it  was  thirty  years  ago. 
We  see  it  cropping  out  in  our  railway  system ;  in  our 
banking  system,  in  our  “protective”  policy,  and  by 
the  robbery  of  the  public  treasury,  without  reason  or 
excuse,  by  those  whose  sworn  duty  it  is  to  guard  and 
protect  the  rights  of  the  people.  We  are  determined 
that  it  shall  be  rooted  out  now,  as  it  was  thirty  years 

ag°- 

What  “The  Little  Bull  Law”  did  for  “would-be” 
great  men  in  this  state,  the  Great  Grab  will  do  for  the 
“would-be”  great  men  in  Congress.  The  people  are  de¬ 
termined  to  rid  our  national  councils  of  “Bashan  stock” 
by  relegating  to  private  life,  every  man  who  advocated 
or  voted  for  the  steal,  or  who  dodged  the  question, 
as  well  as  those  who  contented  themselves  with  divine 
a  negative  vote,  and  subsequently  pocketed  their 
share  of  the  spoil ;  and  the  conscientious  gentlemen, 
who  took  thirty  or  sixty  days  to  decide  whether  or 
not  they  should  return  their  portion  of  the  “swag”  to 
the  public  treasury,  will  fare  no  better.  Only  those 
who  opposed  the  swindle  by  argument  and  vote,  and 
who  instantly  refused  to  accept  any  portion  of  the 
plunder,  are  entitled  to  public  confidence. 

The  time  actually  devoted  by  members  to  the  pub¬ 
lic  service,  during  both  sessions  of  a  single  term  of 
Congress,  does  not  average  over  ten  months,  or  300 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES. 


137 


days,  so  that  under  the  old  law  their  pay  was  $33 
per  day  for  the  time  spent  in  Washington.  The  peo¬ 
ple  regard  this  as  not  only  a  sufficient  but  extrava¬ 
gant  consideration  for  the  services  rendered.  They 
regarded  the  advance  from  $3,000  to  $5,000  per  an¬ 
num,  as  a  war  measure,  that  would  be  continued  only 
while  the  cause  existed.  From  what  has  since  been 
said  by  professional  politicians  about  “retrenchment 
and  reform”  they  were  led  to  expect  a  reduction, 
rather  than  an  advance  in  the  pay  of  the  members. 
Men  of  ability,  culture,  capacity,  and  a  high  order  of 
talent,  managed  to  live  in  Washington  on  one-fourth 
the  amount  allowed  under  the  old  law.  If  the  Grab 
law  of  the  last  session  is  allowed  to  stand,  members 
will  receive  $15,000  for  ten  months  services,  being  at 
the  rate  of  $50  per  day  for  the  time  actually  devoted 
to  the  public  service.  This  is  “  retrenchment,”  with 
a  vengeance;  and  yet  the  party  has  the  effrontery  to 
assume  the  farmer’s  issues,  and  point  us  to  the  advan¬ 
tage  of  its  “perfected  organization.” 

The  members  of  the  Congress  that  meets  in  De¬ 
cember  next  sought  and  accepted  the  office  with  the 
distinct  understanding  that  they  were  to  receive  for 
their  services  $5,000  per  annum,  with  traveling  ex¬ 
penses;  and  the  demanding  or  taking  of  any  more 
will  be  a  repudiation  of  the  contract.  They  are  no 
more  entitled  to  the  extra  compensation  authorized 
by  the  law  of  the  last  session  than  those  who  passed 
it,  and  their  neglect  or  refusal  to  repeal  that  villainous 
law  will  be  accepted  by  the  people  as  proof  that  they, 
like  its  authors,  belong  to  the  Bashan  stock,  and  like 
them,  ought  and  will  share  the  same  fate. 


138 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


ON  CORPORATIONS. 

*  -x-  *  *  *  *  jn  rep]y  to  enquiries  from  our 

Club  in  Christian  county,  Judge  Vanderveer  sends  a 
most  forcible  commentary  upon  that  branch  of  the 
monopoly  question  which  makes  an  issue  between  the 
people  and  railway  companies.  He  says  : 

“  The  doctrine  that  the  legislature  has  or  can  dis¬ 
pose  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  by  contract 
with  incorporated  companies  is  about  exploded.  The 
sovereignty  of  the  people  is  inalienable.  Their  right 
to  require  every  Individual,  company,  or  corporation 
to  obey  the  law  cannot  be  sold  by  the  legislature.  To 
say  the  people  of  the  state  cannot,  by  law,  prevent 
unjust  discrimination  by  public  carriers,  is  to  say  that 
the  people  are  incapable  of  self-government.” 

The  judge  holds  the  “legislative  omnipotence” 
doctrine  in  contempt,  and  regards  the  entire  mass  of 
meddlesome,  regulative  or  “preventive”  statutory 
enactments,  as  the  empirical  prescriptions  of  legisla¬ 
tive  quackery.  He  adds: 

“Wanton  and  unjust  taxation,  extravagant  legisla¬ 
tion  and  prodigal  expenditure  of  public  money,  are 
crying  evils,  worthy  the  consideration  of  your  club. 
The  levying  of  taxes  and  heaping  of  burdens  upon 
the  products  of  labor  seem  (to  our  law-makers)  to  be 
the  only  remedy  for  all  evils. 

“  Accordingly  the  general  assembly,  in  1871,  devised 
a  commission  of  three,  with  a  yearly  salary  of  $3,500 
each,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  tax  fund. 


Amounting  in  the  whole  year  to . . . $10,500.00 

They  were  allowed  a  clerk  at .  1,500.00 

And  for  office  rent  and  stationery . . . ..  800.00 


Making  annually . $12,800.00 

And  making  for  two  years  only . _• _  25,600.00 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES. 


139 


“  Loud  calls  have  been  made  by  the  governor  and 
others  upon  the  legislature  for  additional  allowances. 
Their  calls  have  been  as  persistent  and  earnest  as  the 
calls  of  Hannibal  upon  Carthage  for  supplies  for  his 
small  but  victorious  army,  while  marching  upon  the 
gates  of  Rome.  Now  behold  and  admire  the  daring 
struggles  and  long-continued  and  never-ceasing  labors. 
Don’t  you  think  that  these  poorly-paid  commission¬ 
ers,  with  untiring  energy  and  unabated  zeal  for  the 
public  welfare,  did  actually  and  certainly  in  the  short 
space  of  two  years,  and  with  no  more  of  the  taxes 
for  pay  than  $25,600,  bring  one  whole  suit  against  the 
railroads,  and  did  actually  and  certainly  get  beat 
right  out  of  their  boots,  and  what  was  worse,  out  of 
the  case,  and  then  retreated  in  good  order?” 

The  judge  would  provide  a  very  different  and  less 
extravagant  mode.  Not  to  “  regulate  ”  or  “  prevent  ” 
anything,  but  to  execute  justice  upon  the  corporate 
doers  of  injustice,  putting  the  artifical  person  and 
the  natural  person  on  an  equality  before  the  law.  As 
far  as  it  relates  to  wrong  acts  by  railway  companies, 
his  Honor  thinks  this  is  the  solution  of  the  whole 
question : 

“  In  my  judgment,  the  problem  is  easily  solved. 
First,  give  a  plain,  clear,  simple  and  universal  law, 
declaring  what  shall  be  unjust  discrimination  ;  and, 
second,  allow  each  individual  injured  to  sue  before  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  or  other  court  having  jurisdic¬ 
tion  of  the  amount  claimed,  in  his  own  name  and  on 
his  own  motion,  just  as  he  now  sues  for  killing  his 
cattle,  and  my  view  for  it,  unjust  discriminations 
would  be  few  at  the  end  of  a  year ;  instead  of  one 
suit  in  two  years,  there  would  be  10,000  in  one  year. 
The  great  elephant  may  beat  down  and  overcome  the 


140 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


lion,  but  unless  you  protect  the  elephant  from  repeated 
assaults  of  the  millions  of  mosquitoes,  they  can  worry 
the  life  out  of  him. 

“  The  power  of  railroad  companies  may  paralyze, 
corrupt,  and  beat  down  a  few  commissioners,  as  the 
elephant  destroys  the  lion  ;  but  if  the  legislature  will 
provide  the  people  with  a  plain,  simple  law,  defining 
their  rights  and  remedies,  the  people  will  enforce  it 
without  the  aid  of  a  guardian,  in  the  shape  of  rail¬ 
road  commissioners,  and  worry  the  railroads  into  a 
due  respect  for  the  law.” 

He  returns  to  the  subject  of  costly  “  preventive  9 
officialism  in  the  following  vigorous  style : 

“  I  repeat,  give  the  people  a  plain,  simple  law  de¬ 
fining  their  rights  and  remedies,  and  they  need  no 
guardians  and  ask  no  salary.  They  can  sue  the  rail¬ 
road  just  as  easy  as  they  can  sue  each  other,  and,  in 
my  experience,  much  easier.  Why,  then,  give  $i  2,800 
a  year  to  somebody  to  sue  for  them,  and  then  fail  ? 
It  is,  in  my  judgment,  a  delusion.  But  the  $25,600 
is  a  reality. 

“  It  will  be  a  proud  day  for  the  country  when  the 
people  shall  be  aroused  to  a  true  sense  of  their 
actual  condition  and  threatened  liberties.” 

a  scare  ! 

An  article  was  read  before  this  Grange,  the  other  . 
evening,  taken  from  a  monopolist  organ,  published 
near  the  home-nest  of  the  pig-iron  pirates,  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania.  This  wheezing  paper  warns  the  farmers  of 
the  West  that  if  special  bounties,  now  granted  by 
law  to  certain  manufacturers,  be  abolished,  the  change 
will  drive  a  million  of  men,  who  are  now"  consumers” 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES. 


141 

of  bread,  to  become  farmers,  or  “producers  ”  of  bread. 
It  adds,  that  to  abolish  protective  taxes  will  reduce  the 
cost  of  manufactured  goods,  and  that  labor-employed 
in  factories,  receiving  reduced  wages,  must  purchase 
less  corn,  and  go  to  farming  for  a  living. 

Farmers  who  have  been  paying  taxes  for  a  dozen 
years,  to  foster  other  industries,  have  certainly,  by 
this  time,  a  pretty  clear  idea  of  the  fraudulent  char¬ 
acter  of  “  Protection.”  The  Chicago  Tribune  pre¬ 
sents  the  following  list  of  manufacturing  trades  and 
industries,  which  are  not  protected.  The  persons 
employed  in  the  occupations  named  are  not  so  pro¬ 
tected  by  law  but  that  all  the  duties  might  be  re¬ 
pealed  with  benefit,  rather  than  injury  to  them. 


Houses  and  fences. 

Wagons  and  carriages. 

Hubs,  spokes,  shafts  and  wheels. 
Agricultural  implements. 
Printing  presses  and  quartz 
mills. 

Cars  and  locomotives. 

Railways  and  street  railways. 
Steamers,  sailing  vessels,  and 
canal-boats. 

Staves,  barrels,  and  pumps. 

Fire  engines  and  hose. 

Stoves,  grates,  ranges,  and  fur¬ 
naces. 

Roofing  and  plastering. 

Engines,  boilers  and  machinery. 
Quarrying,  stone-cutting,  and 
brick-making. 

Water-works,  paving,  sewers, 
and  gas. 

Bridges,  iron  and  wood. 
Painting  and  glazing. 

Scales  and  safes. 

Brooms  and  brushes. 

Boots  and  shoes. 


Jewelry,  optical,  mathematical, 
and  telegraphic  instru¬ 
ments. 

Butchering  and  packing. 

Flour,  crackers,  and  biscuit. 

Canned  fruit  and  vegetables. 

Starch,  oil,  vinegar,  lard,  tallow, 
glue,  and  grease. 

Printing,  stereotyping, engraving 
and  gilding. 

Gas-fitting  and  plumbing. 

Sash,  doors,  blinds,  and  lad¬ 
ders. 

Printing  and  writing  ink. 

Blank-books,  binding,  etc. 

Butter,  cheese,  candles,  ashes, 
saleratus,  and  soap. 

Lamps,  lanterns,  and  candle¬ 
sticks. 

Cloth  and  paper  bags. 

Paper  collars,  cuffs,  boxes,  and 
paper  hangings. 

Wooden-ware,  willow-ware,  and 
matches. 

Sails,  awnings,  and  tents. 


142 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


Cement  and  stoneware. 

Marble  manufactures. 

Ice-cutting. 

Hats  and  hatters’  goods  and 
furs. 

Vault  lights,  elevators,  heating 
apparatus,  and  lightning- 
rods. 

Looking-glass  and  picture- 
frames. 

Sewing  machines. 

Pianos  and  organs. 

Photographs  and  photographic 
goods. 

Dental  goods. 

Patent  Medicines. 

Iron  castings. 


Trunks,  boxes,  and  show  cases. 

Wheelwrighting,  wheel-barrows, 
and  handcarts. 

Saddlery,  harness,  and  belting. 

Tabacco  manufacturing. 

Leather  and  leather  goods. 

Churns,  washing  machines,  and 
clothes-wringers. 

Clothing  made  by  tailors,  milli¬ 
ners,  and  dressmakers. 

Guns,  gunsmithing,  and  tin¬ 
ware. 

Locksmithing,  bellhanging,  and 
speaking-tubes. 

Blacksmithing  of  all  kinds. 

Household  and  school  furniture 
and  upholstering.  . 


According  to  the  census,  the  whole  number  of  per¬ 
sons  in  the  United  States,  male  and  female,  engaged 
in  some  occupation,  and  over  ten  years  of  age,  is 
12,505,923;  and  in  giving  the  number  engaged  in 
each  class  of  occupations,  the  protected  and  non-pro- 
tected  producers  may  be  stated  as  follows : 


NON-PROTECTED  CLASSES. 


Agricultural  pursuits . 5,922,471 

Professional  business . 677,393 

Domestic  servants. . . 975>734 

Ordinary  laborers . .  1,031,666 

Trade  and  transportation . . 1,191,238 

Non-protected  manufactures .  1,850,000 

Miners,  not  protected .  75,000 


Total  non-protected . . . 11,723,502 

PROTECTED  CLASSES. 

Operatives  in  wool,  iron,  cotton,  and  other  goods .  705,314 

Miners . . .  77,107 


Total  protected  classes .  782,421 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 43 

The  number  of  persons  engaged  in  protected  in¬ 
dustries  is  six  and  one-quarter  per  cent,  of  the  whole, 
and  the  non-protected  classes  are  ninety-three  and 
three-quarters  per  cent,  of  the  whole  producing  pop¬ 
ulation. 

It  is  hardly  probable  then,  that  the  protectionists 
are  in  earnest  when  they  claim  that  if  the  average 
bounty  of  forty-nine  per  cent,  extorted  from  the  peo¬ 
ple  nominally,  to  protect  the  labor  of  the  protected 
classes,  is  abolished,  there  will  be  a  million  of  adults 
driven  to  the  farms.  Persons  raised  in  cities,  and  who 
have  been  engaged  in  mechanical  and  factory  work, 
can  not  be  induced  by  any  stress  of  circumstances,  to 
become  farmers.  The  farmers  of  the  West  could 
give  homes  and  employment  to  an  immense  army  of 
both  men  and  women,  and  liberal  wages,  too,  if  they 
could  be  procured.  It  is  one  of  the  evils  of  the  day, 
that  such  a  large  proportion  of  the  laboring  popula¬ 
tion  prefer  to  live  in  the  cities  struggling  with  pov¬ 
erty  and  exposed  to  all  the  temptations  and  vices  of 
a  metropolis,  rather  than  seek  the  country,  where  a 
comfortable  and  respectable  living  awaits  them  on  the 
farms.  Nor  can  farmers  attach  their  own  sons  and 
daughters  to  the  plow.  They  hasten  to  abandon  the 
healthfulness  and  integrity  of  agricultural  life,  to  be¬ 
come  petty  clerks,  salesmen,  servants,  and  wage-labor¬ 
ers  in  cities.  When  Protectionists  talk  about  empty¬ 
ing  their  factories  and  sending  their  laborers  out  on 
the  farms,  if  the  special  bounties  to  a  few  manufac¬ 
turing  interests  be  repealed,  they  do  not  scare  any¬ 
body,  much  less  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  So  dif¬ 
ficult  is  it  to  get  sufficient  labor  for  the  farms,  that 


144 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


if  it  were  not  for  the  addition  to  such  labor  obtained 
from  the  annual  immigration,  it  would  be  impossible 
to  increase  the  products  of  farms  in  proportion  to 
the  increase  of  the  population  of  the  country.  The 
idea  that  the  Protectionists  furnish  from  their  mills 
the  “consumers  ”  of  farm  products,  is  a  specious  false¬ 
hood.  The  same  people  would  consume  just  as  much 
in  a  non-protected  occupation. 

They  are  as  far  from  the  truth  when  they  claim 
that  the  object  of  Protection  is  to  give  higher  wages 
to  labor.  The  proportion  of  labor  performed  by  ma¬ 
chinery  is  annually  growing  greater,  and  that  by  hu¬ 
man  labor  decreasing.  The  proportion  of  cash  ex¬ 
pended  for  wages  of  the  leading  manufactures,  does 
not  exceed  eighteen  per  cent,  of  the  product.  Ten 
men,  by  the  aid  of  machinery,  now  do  the  work  which 
required  forty  men  twenty  years  ago.  The  capital¬ 
ist  enjoys  the  same  bounty  on  the  product  of  his  ma¬ 
chinery  that  he  does  on  the  labor  of  his  workmen. 
At  the  most,  the  workman  can  only  receive,  as  his 
share  of  the  average,  forty-nine  per  cent,  bounty — 
the  proportion  which  his  wages  bear  to  the  value  of 
the  thing  produced,  which  is  eighteen  per  cent.  The 
rest  of  the  bounty  is  awarded  to  the  capital  which 
hires  the  laborer  and  owns  the  machinery. 


THE  INFANT  PIG. 

%! 


The  true  Granger  never  loses  his  interest  in  what¬ 
ever  concerns  the  health  of  the  government’s  little 
pig — or  as  it  is  known  outside  the  Grange,  the  infant 
pig-iron  industry.  So  eager  is  he  to  possess  himself 


r-T\  “  ' 

GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 45 

of  information  concerning  p’ggys  welfare,  that  he  is 
always  ready  to  accept  it  from  friend  or  foe.  Once 
obtained,  he  loses  no  time  in  spreading  the  glad  tid¬ 
ings  before  his  brethren,  that  neither  “  matron  ”  or 
“maid”  may  doubt  that  Protection’s  favorite  child, 
shall  be  eventually  successfully  weaned. 

The  latest  bulletin  comes  from  the  Messrs.  A.  B. 
Meeker  and  Co.,  the  meek  iron-masters  of  Chicago. 
A  monopolist  journal  of  that  sun-burnt  village  smiles 
upon  its  readers  with  the  information  that  the  above 
firm  “  shipped  a  considerable  quantity  of  iron  out  of 
the  United  States  last  year,  and  was  engaged  in 
working  up  an  extensive  trade  in  that  metal  with  Her 
Majesty’s  subjects.”  If  this  be  true,  our  Infant  would 
be  in  little  danger  if  the  duty  on  pig-iron  were  wholly 
removed.  An  additional  inference  is  warranted  that 
the  present  duty  enables  American  iron-masters  to 
practice  extortion,  for  which  there  is  not  the  shadow 
of  an  excuse. 

But  as  monopolist  organs  often  err,  even  in  telling 

!the  tale  of  their  own  pigs,  corroboration  comes 
through  a  voice  from  the  great  iron  kingdom  of 
Pennsylvania.  This  voice  is  the  Harrisburg  Patriot , 
whatever  that  is,  and  it  says : 

“  A  great  change  for  the  advantage  of  the  leading 
interest  in  the  manufactures  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
production  of  iron  in  its  various  forms,  has  taken 
place  within  the  past  two  years.  The  market  value 
of  pig-iron  has  almost  doubled  during  that  period, 
with  no  increase  in  the  cost  of  production.” 

This  change  has  taken  place,  in  spite  of  a  consider- 


146  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

able  reduction  of  duties.  When  the  duty  on  pig- 
iron  was  $9  per  ton,  before  the  year  1870,  the  price 
of  American  pig,  in  New  York,  was  from  $26  to  $33 
per  ton,  according  to  quality.  The  present  price, 
under  a  duty  of  $6.30  per  ton,  is  from  $40  to  $50  per 
ton.  The  advance  in  price  has  been  from  $14  to  $17 
per  ton,  without  taking  the  duty  into  account.  Now, 
if  the  boss  pigs  were  able  to  live,  with  a  protection  of 
$9  per  ton,  when  the  price,  including  duty,  averaged 
$29.50,. can’t  they  subsist  now  without  begging,  when 
the  price — also  including  duties — averages  $45  per 
ton,  without  any  protection  at  all  ?  Supposing,  as 
we  Grangers  have  a  right  to  suppose,  the  repeal  of 
the  present  duty  should  reduce  the  price  of  American 
iron  $6.30  per  ton,  as  it  would,  the  manufacturers 
would  still  realize  an  average  of  $38.70  per  ton, 
against  an  average  of  only  $29.50,  when  the  duty  was 
$9.  They  would  still  realize  $9.20  per  ton  more  than 
they  did  when  they  had  the  benefit  of  the  highest 
rate  of  duty.  They  admit  that  it  costs  no  more  to 
produce  pigs,  that  is  to  say  pig-iron,  in  this  country 
now,  than  it  did  then.  It  follows  that  the  manufac¬ 
turers  would  be  better  off  by  $9.20  per  ton,  without 
protection ,  than  they  were  then,  with  $9  per  ton  pro¬ 
tection.  It  follows  of  necessity  again,  that  the  pres¬ 
ent  duty  is  a  sheer  gratuity  from  those  generous 
fellows,  the  professional  politicians,  to  men  who  would 
make  enormous  profits  without  any  duty  at  all. 

If  you  ask  the  enemy  why,  even  on  the  protective 
theory,  the  duty  should  longer  exist,  he  will  answer, 
because  the  present  high  prices  of  iron  cannot  be 
sustained  ,  because,  if  the  present  duty  be  abolished, 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  147 

* .  • 

prices  will  fall  at  once,  and  the  rapacious  British  iron¬ 
masters  will  instantly  flood  our  market  with  cheap 
iron,  the  product  of  their  “  pauper  labor,”  and  “  crush 
out”  our  “infant  industry,”  just  as  it  is  being  able  to- 
walk  alone.  If  this  argument  is  good  now,  when  will 
it  cease  to  be  ^ood  ?  We  are  forever  beina-  assured 
by  the  advocates  of  the  “  American  System,”  that 
“  protection  ”  is  merely  a  temporary  expedient ;  and 
we  have  heard  farmers  say  that  it  was  a  good  thing 
when  the  country  was  new.  The  protectionist  adds, 
that  it  is  only  necessary  while  our  industries  are  in 
their  infancy;  that  as  soon  as  we  have  machinery 
and  skilled  labor,  we  shall  be  able  to  defy  foreign 
competition  by  reason  of  our  natural  resources,  and 
protection  then  will  no  longer  be  necessary.  Then, 
why  not  apply  the  doctrine  at  once  ?  The  infant  is 
well  supplied  with  capital,  skilled  labor,  and  machin¬ 
ery,  and  is  backed  by  natural  resources  unsurpassed. 
It  is  able,  we  see,  to  cope  with  Great  Britain  on  her 
own  ground.  Could  any  infant  wish  for  more  ?  Is 
it  not  able  now  to  run  alone,  without  the  assistance 
of  nurse  ? 

There  are  two  causes  for  the  advance  in  the  price 
of  iron,  during  the  past  two  years.  First,  the  in¬ 
creased  demand,  and  second,  the  increased  cost  of 
production  in  Great  Britain.  Doubtless,  the  increased 
demand  will  be  met  in  time  by  the  increased  produc¬ 
tion  ;  but  the  increased  cost  of  production  in  Great 
Britain  is  not  likely  ever  to  be  overcome.  The  prob¬ 
ability  is  that  the  cost  of  producing  there,  relatively 
to  the  cost  of  producing  it  here,  will  constantly  in¬ 
crease.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  therefore,  that 


148  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

the  increased  supply  of  iron  must  come  from  this 
country,  if  the  iron-masters  are  wise  enough  to  sur¬ 
render  the  privilege  of  exacting  tribute  from  their 
countrymen,  and  to  demand  exemption  from  the 
payment  of  tribute  to  other  protected  producers.  If 
they  are  wise  enough  to  improve  their  golden  oppor¬ 
tunity  by  helping  to  rid  themselves,  and  the  country, 
of  the  whole  tribute  system,  they  will  soon  control 
the  iron  markets  of  the  whole  western  continent. 
The  Grange  may  safely  conclude  that  the  govern¬ 
ment’s  pig  is  doing  very  well. 

KING  CAUCUS. 

BY  AN  OHIO  PATRON. 

The  Old  Men’s  Party  met  in  convention,  recently, 
in  Ohio,  and  danced  a  hornpipe  to  the  tune  of  “  Old 
Hundred.”  It  was  a  fair-sized  collection  of  political 
pall-bearers,  and  one  in  which  the  ages  of  the  par¬ 
ticipants  compare  appropriately  with  the  age  of  the 
deceased,  which  was  known  in  life  as  “  The  Ohio  De¬ 
mocracy.”  It  was  composed  mainly  of  ancient  sticks, 
old  dead  timber  that  lost  its  sap  and  its  bark  before 
the  war.  There  was  an  occasional  limb  still  green 
at  the  top,  but  the  trunk  of  the  thing  is  worm-eaten, 
rotten  at  the  heart  and  shaky  at  the  butt.  It  was  re¬ 
marked  that  “old  men  of  the  senilities,”  who  have  not 
cast  their  votes  for  more  than  adecade,  had  come 
out  in  spectacles  and  on  crutches,  for  a  last  victory, 
a  closing  triumph  of  speeches  over  youth  and  clear 
eyesight.  A  platform  of  principles  was  adopted,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  the  first  resolution  of  which  em¬ 
bodied  a  truth  which  is  not  only  taking  hold  of  the 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 49 

;  .  .  A 

popular  mind  everywhere,  but  which  was  a  part  of 
the  Patron’s  creed,  from  the  very  commencement  of 
the  People’s  movement.  It  is  the  first  of  the  string 
of  resolutions  composing  the  platform,  and  is  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

Resolved ,  That  we  declare  against  a  caucus  or  con¬ 
vention  which  fails  to  present  fit  candidates  for  office. 
It  is  the  high  privilege,  as  well  as  the  bounden  duty, 
of  all  good  citizens  to  withhold  their  votes  from  such 
candidates,  and,  regardless  of  party  -affiliations,  to 
support  the  best  men  presented  for  official  position. 

Our  movement  is  as  much  against  King  Caucus 

o  o 

as  against  any  other  tyrant;  as  much  against  the 
fetters  imposed  by  party  management  and  political 
conventions,  upon  the  freedom  of  action  of  voters, 
as  against  any  other  species  of  monopoly.  People 
begin  to  revolt  at  the  spectacle,  not  only  of  nomina¬ 
ting  bodies,  but  even  of  state  legislatures  packed  in 
the  interest  of  particular  aspirants  to  office,  and  con¬ 
verted  into  so  much  machinery  to  be  “run”  for  their 
individual  benefit.  An  ambitious,  unscrupulous  pol¬ 
itician  may  in  reality  have  the  support  of  but  a  small 
minority  of  the  party  to  which  he  belongs.  The  great 
body  of  that  party,  including  its  most  enlightened  and 
respectable  members,  may  be  altogether  opposed  to 
his  elevation,  and  see,  not  only  with  reluctance,  but 
disgust,  the  control  of  the  party  surrendered  into  his 
hands.  But,  unfortunately,  the  active  minority  who 
support  him  are  of  the  class  of  “working”  politi¬ 
cians — the  class  who  attend  primary  meetings,  serve 
as  delegates  to  conventions,  who  live  by  politics,  and 
between  whom  and  the  candidate  a  natural  alliance 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


150 


of  interest  springs  up.  Disgusted  “  respectability,” 
meanwhile,  stays  at  home,  takes  no  active  part  in  the 
nominations,  and,  when  the  day  of  election  arrives, 
finds  that  it  has  no  choice  but  to  support  the  candi¬ 
date  whom  it  condemns,  or,  by  withholding  that  sup¬ 
port,  let  the  election  go  by  default  in  favor  of  a  po¬ 
litical  opponent.  At  least,  that  is  what  too  com¬ 
monly  happens  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Until  the 
organization  of  the  farmers’  movement,  few  men  had 
the  courage  to  disobey  the  party  mandate,  or  to  “bolt” 
the  action  of  a  regular  convention  in  order  to  save 
even  a  state  from  beincr  disgraced. 

o  o 

We  have  seen  good  men  supporting  unfit  nomina¬ 
tions  because  they  were  “  regular,”  and  as  Patrons  we 
confess,  in  entire  accord  with  the  Ohio  resolutions, 
that  the  most  dangerous  feature  in  our  politics  is  the 
disposition  to  follow  blindly  the  dictates  of  party 
caucuses,  which  are  controlled,  in  nine  cases  out  of 
ten,  by  scheming,  intriguing  political  demagogues. 
Partisanship  is  the  present  peril,  and  wholesome 
“bolting”  the  escape.  Wherever  the  selfishness  and 
ambition  of  self-constituted  leaders  and  would-be 
party  managers  seek  to  lord  it  over  the  people  and  to 
forestall  the  popular  choice,  a  healthy,  spirited  “  bolt” 
will  do  a  world  of  good,  and  teach  such  fellows,  that 
even  though  they  get  the  ear  of  power,  and  the  con¬ 
trol  of  patronage  and  machinery  of  party,  the  people 
back  of  the  party  are  honest,  clean  and  decent,  and 
will  stand  no  nonsense.  I  trust,  that  before  it  is  too 
late,  those  who  claim  to  have  the  political  destinies  of 
the  states  in  their  special  keeping  will  take  note  of 
the  spirit  that  is  abroad  in  the  land,  and  by  present- 


> 


/ 


\ 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 5 1 

in g  only  the  “best  men”  as  candidates,  forestall  the 
danger  of  a  disastrous  if  not  fatal  “  bolt.”  The  Pat- 
rons  of  Husbandry  will  support  only  the  best  men, 
and  there  is  that  in  the  spirit  of  the  people,  just  now, 
which  will  stand  no  nonsense. 

BLADES  OF  GRASS. 

BY  A  KANSAS  PATRON. 

We  want  it  clearly  understood,  that  this  movement 
of  the  farmers  began  without  the  aid  of  any  politi¬ 
cian  or  newspaper  “  organ.”  As  the  grass  springs  up 
all  over  the  land  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  so  was 
our  movement  the  spontaneous  outgrowth  of  exist¬ 
ing  conditions,  springing  into  existence  in  all  parts  of 
the  West,  as  naturally  and  necessarily  as  the  growth 
of  vegetation  in  springtime.  Wherever  the  same 
causes  exist,  there,  from  the  necessities  of  the  people, 
has  arisen  this  farmers’  movement,  and  there  with  in¬ 
telligent  leadership  and  permanent  organization,  it  is 
struggling  against  the  power  of  aggregated  capital, 
combined  with  the  evil  influences  of  party  rings  and 
political  demagogues.  The  reform  movement  goes 
bravely  on,  and  the  disinclination  of  the  farmers,  and 
those  who  sympathize  with  us  in  the  war  against 
monopolies,  to  be  drawn  into  or  to  indorse  any  party, 
or  to  be  ridden  by  any  set  of  politicians,  argues  well 
for  the  future.  It  has  not  grown  like  a  hot-house 
plant,  but  rather  is  it  the  result  of  deep  convictions 
that  the  time  has  come  when  something  must  be 
done  to  break  up  old  party  ties.  It  is  neither  a  Dem¬ 
ocratic  nor  a  Republican  move,  but  welcomes  all  who 

10 


J52 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


will  take  part.  No  one  is  excluded  on  account  of 
former  political  belief ;  neither  does  it  matter  what 
calling  he  follows,  provided  it  is  an  honest  one.  Men 
who  have  hitherto  been  operating  with  the  different 
political  organizations,  engaging  with  all  the  earnest¬ 
ness  and  bitterness  engendered  by  party  differences, 
have  buried  the  hatchet,  and  are  ready  and  willing  to 
denounce  wrong-doing  and  wrong-doers,  wherever 
found.  I  am  aware  that  the  stream  cannot  be  purer 
nor  rise  higher  than  its  fountain.  We  Patrons  are 
charged  with  the  momentous  work  of  purifying  the 
fountain — even  the  people  themselves — until  they 
shall  see  that  the  man  who  legislates  the  peoples’ 
money  into  his  own  pocket,  or  betrays  public  trust  in 
any  way  whatsoever,  is  a  worse  criminal  than  he  who 
steals  a  horse  or  robs  a  bank. 

Everyday  experience  demonstrates  the  fact  that 
misfortunes  befall  the  country  when  incompetent 
men  are  elected  to  office.  The  proof  in  this  country 
is  as  clear  as  it  is  disgraceful.  People  are  suffering 
all  over  the  nation  from  either  the  dishonesty  or  the 
incapacity  of  public  officers,  and  in  many  cases  from 
both.  We  must  have  reform.  The  country  cannot 
stand  this  ceaseless  drain  upon  its  resources.  There 
must  be  some  kind  of  correspondence  between  the 
income  and  the  expenditures  of  the  country,  or  bank¬ 
ruptcy  will  ensue.  Many  of  us  were  at  first  disposed 
to  turn  to  the  old  Republican  party,  but  it  has  be¬ 
come  so  corrupt,  from  long  continuance  in  power, 
that  reform  within  its  fold  is  among  the  impossibili¬ 
ties.  At  every  convention  it  has  held,  in  the  last  two 
or  three  years,  it  has  resolved  and  resolved  again  in 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 53 

favor  of  reform,  of  official  purity,  etc.,  etc.,  and  as 
often  goes  back  to  its  filth,  systematically  violating 
every  pledge  and  promise.  Just  now  the  Democratic 
corpse  is  thrusting  similar  resolves  at  us  through  its 
shroud.  The  people  are  casting  about  now  for  other 
means  to  preserve  what  is  left  of  their  rights  and 
liberties,  and  to  get  back,  if  possible,  those  rights 
which  the  government  has  arbitrarily  seized  and  con¬ 
ferred  upon  monopolies.  It  is  not  a  new  departure, 
but  merely  the  taking  of  new  means  to  preserve  be¬ 
tween  the  people  and  the  government  their  constitu¬ 
tional  relations,  and  to  get  better  security  than  the 
constitution  gives  the  people,  that  the  relations  of 
freemen  to  their  government  shall  not  be  arbitrarily 
broken  by  the  exercise  of  power  not  vested  in  the 
government,  and  that  rights,  which  belong  to  the 
people  at  large,  shall  not  be  taken  away  and  conferred 
upon  corporations.  This  is  taking  place  all  over 
this  country..  It  needs  but  system  and  order  in  its 
management  and  guidance  to  be  entirely  successful. 
This  system  and  order  we  have  already  secured, 
through  our  organization. 

OLD  PARTIES  OR  NEW. 

BY  A  MASTER. 

The  better  sort  of  government  is 
that  which  leaves  the  largest  freedom  of  action  to 
the  citizen.  To  secure  this,  it  must  not  seek  to  in¬ 
terfere  with  the  laws  of  trade,  religion,  or  the  customs 
of  society.  The  Republican  party  is  the  successor 
of  the  old  Whig  party  that  came  in  turn  from  the 


154 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


Federal  party  of  the  Revolution.  It  regards  the 
government  as  the  guardian,  or  rather  the  parent,  of 
the  people.  Hence  the  class  legislation  of  which  we 
complain.  We  are  not  only  made  to  pay  heavily  for 
the  support  of  an  extravagant  government,  but  we 
are  forced  to  sustain  the  pets  of  the  government — 
privileged  monopolies  based  on  money,  that  are 
wrong  and  oppressive.  These  constitute  the  oppos¬ 
ing  forces  that  are  inimical  to  good  government. 
These  forces  may  be  classed  under  one  head,  as  the 
accumulated  capital  of  the  country  in  the  hands  of 
the  few — the  men  who  grew  rich  out  of  contracts, 
during  the  war.  They  may  be  enumerated  as  fol¬ 
lows:  The  Protectionists,  the  great  railroad  interests, 
the  national  banks, — all  based  upon,  or  outcropping 
from,  the  gold-bearing  bonds.  All  of  these  have 
taken  stock  in  the  present  administration.  They 
own  and  control  it.  They  have  made  of  our  govern¬ 
ment  one  vast  job. 

The  first  of  the  iniquities  is  the  protective  tariff, 
which  I  do  not  stop  to  discuss  now,  as  it  was  the  re¬ 
quest  of  the  Grange  that  I  should  merely  outline  our 
grievances,  in  reply  to  demagogues  who  are  asking 
us  to  permit  existing  political  organizations  to  assume 
our  cause.  When  the  war  broke  out,  the  Republi¬ 
can  party  came  into  power.  Its  representatives  in 
Congress  passed  a  tariff  law  that  amounted  to  pro¬ 
hibition.  Thus  protected,  the  manufacturing  inter¬ 
ests  realized  large  profits.  Now,  when  the  consumer 
needs  cheap  articles,  we  are  forced  to  pay  the  highest 
prices,  while  the  producer  or  laborer  of  the  country 
is  forced  to  take  prices  for  his  produce  far  below  its 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 55 

value.  This  is  an  artificial  condition  of  things,  cre¬ 
ated  by  law,  which  establishes  an  inequality  highly 
detrimental  to  the  freedom  of  the  citizen.  Prohib¬ 
ited  by  a  protective  tariff  from  going  abroad  to 
purchase  in  the  world’s  market,  he  is  forced  to  pay 
an  artificial  price  upon  home-manufactured  goods 
that  is  ruinous;  for  while  compelled  to  pay  the  ex¬ 
cessive  price  demanded  for  the  manufactured  article, 
he  finds  the  home  market  glutted  with  the  products 
of  the  land,  which  are  almost  made  valueless  by  the 
combined  action  of  capital  in  various  forms.  The 
most  onerous  and  tyrannical  of  these  are  the  railroads 
— the  most  powerful  of  corporate  grants  in  the  land. 
Covering  the  country  with  a  net-work  of  iron,  they 
have  the  exclusive  control  of  the  carrying  trade  in 
the  transportation  of  merchandise  and  the  products 
of  the  land,  and  upon  which  they  fix  their  own  rates 
of  charges.  This  so  enhances  the  high  price  upon 
the  manufactured  article,  created  by  the  tariff,  that, 
by  the  time  any  article  of  merchandise  leaves  their 
hands,  the  cost  of  the  simplest  fabric  is  so  great  as 
to  make  it  a  luxury  to  possess  it,  after  it  has  been 
carried  from  the  East  to  the  West.  This  is  a  load 
in  itself  that  the  labor  of  the  country  can  barely 
sustain  ;  but  when  to  this  is  added  the  reduction 
in  the  value  of  produce  by  the  cost  of  railroad 
charges  for  carrying,  and  the  glut  of  the  market,  it 
leaves  the  producer  without  the  means  to  purchase 
the  bare  necessities  of  life.  As  an  illustration :  here 
in  the  West  it  takes  three  bushels  of  corn  to  get  one 
to  market,  and  corn  ceases  to  be  an  article  of  ship¬ 
ment,  and  we  frequently  use  it  as  fuel.*  Thus,  while 


156 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS, 


the  manufactured  article  is  enhanced  in  price,  to 
place  it  beyond  the  reach  of  purchase  by  the  West¬ 
ern  producer,  the  corn  is  burned,  while  the  wheat 
barely  pays  for  transportation  to  the  consumer  of 
the  East.  Under  this  administration  of  affairs,  the 
capitalist  very  kindly  allows  the  laborer  of  the  coun¬ 
try  to  have  left  him  only  enough  clothes  to  cover  his 
nakedness  and  sufficient  food  to  keep  his  body  and 
soul  together. 

But  they  are  not  satisfied  with  wielding  this  crush¬ 
ing  power.  They  have  secured  through  Congress  a 
vast  extent  of  the  public  domain,  the  property  of  the 
people,  the  inheritance  of  their  children,  held  in  trust 
by  the  government  for  their  sole  benefit ;  to  be  pos¬ 
sessed  and  used  by  them  when  called  for  upon  pay¬ 
ment  of  the  nominal  sum  of  one  dollar  and  a  quar¬ 
ter  per  acre,  the  trust  charge  for  the  safe  keeping  of 
the  public  lands  for  the  use  of  the  individual.  The 
trust  has  been  violated,  and  now  railway  corporations 
have  assumed  ownership. 

Saddled  upon  all  these  evils  is  your  banking  sys¬ 
tem,  which  furnishes  the  circulating  medium  used  to 
make  up  balances,  and  thus  to  carry  on  the  trade  of 
the  country.  The  operators  form  one  class  of  bond¬ 
holders,  from  which  thgy  gather  their  gold  interest, 
and  on  which  they  issue  another  indebtedness,  and 
draw  interest  on  that.  With  eight  per  cent,  interest 
on  the  bonds,  and  one  per  cent,  a  month  on  the  cur¬ 
rency,  they  realize  the  net  sum  of  twenty  per  cent, 
on  their  capital,  and  in  five  years  double  their  invest¬ 
ment.  Now,  if  it  is  true  in  regard  to  private  affairs, 
that  there  is  no  legitimate  business  in  the  country, 


GRAINS  FRQM  THE  GRANARIES. 


157 


that  can  be  carried  on  with  capital  that  costs  ten  per 
cent,  how  can  the  business  of  the  country  be  carried 
on  with  a  circulating  medium,  costing  twenty  ?  It 
cannot  be  done.  To  all  these  evils  under  which  the 
business  men  of  the  country  are  oppressed,  is  to  be 
added  taxation — an  extortion  from  the  producing 
classes,  to  run  the  machinery  of  the  government, 
which  as  I  have  hinted,  is  run  in  many  instances  as  a 
charitable  institution,  to  keep  up  the  feeble  branches 
of  trade,  that  cannot  sustain  themselves. 

Summing  it  all  up,  it  would  seem  that  there  was  no 
legitimate  business  in  the  country  but  that  of  farm¬ 
ing  and  day-laborers.  These  seem  to  be  the  only  self- 
sustaining  branches  of  industry,  and  they  are  taxed 
to  death  to  support  the  illegitimate  business.  Here 
we  have  illustrated,  in  its  broadest  sense,  a  paternal 
government. 

I  beseech  you,  farmers,  laborers,  and  business  men 
of  the  country,  who  are  sustaining  these  enormous 
charities,  to  look  into  these  matters  !  Why  are  your 
hard  earnings  to  be  taken  by  law  from  healthy 
branches  of  trade,  to  sustain  unhealthy  branches? 
— branches,  which,  under  this  unholy  legislation,  are 
making  millionaires  of  those  supposed  paupers,  and 
pauperizing  you  in  return.  Let  us  examine  these 
matters,  as  citizens,  as  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  as  men 
who  would  be  free,  and  correct  the  evils  which  threat¬ 
en  a  total  upheaval  and  subversion  of  our  govern¬ 
ment. 

We  would  be  patriots  rather  than  partisans.  Both 
of  the  old  parties  seem  incapable  of  correcting  these 
evils.  One  has  brought  them  upon  us,  and  the  other 


158  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

i 

is  unable  to  resist  them.  Who  is  to  do  it?  The  an¬ 
swer  comes  from  the  Granges  all  over  the  land.  The 
people  in  consultation  looking  to  their  own  interest 
— they  are  the  only  power  that  can  resist  the  current 
of  destruction  that  threatens  to  overwhelm  us.  We 
would  cast  aside  old  party  trammels.  Let  no  prej¬ 
udice  bias  your  judgment,  my  brethren,  and  then 
with  firmness  pour  oil  upon  the  troubled  waters,  and 
the  storm  of  abuses  will  subside.  The  tide  has  set 
in  from  this  Great  West. 

The  farmers,  in  solid  phalanx,  are  marching  to 
the  front.  The  work  is  begun.  The  people  are  in 
earnest,  and  the  People’s  party  is  simply  an  outcrop¬ 
ping  of  their  determination  to  resist  these  wrongs — 
wrongs  that  have  at  last  aroused  the  most  peaceful 
element.  As  the  tyranny  of  Great  Britain  aroused 
such  men  as  Putnam  from  their  dream  at  the  plow, 
so  the  present  condition  is  bringing  the  farmer  to  the 
front. 

We  have  no  great  job  to  put  up!  In  our  action 
we  are  simply  seeking  remedies  to  correct  existing 
wrongs.  We  ask  no  favors.  All  we  wish  is  to  be 
let  alone  in  our  business  relations — to  have  these  free 
and  unhampered,  and  not  to  be  burdened  by  unneces¬ 
sary  taxation  that  has  been  put  upon  them  to  encour¬ 
age  monopolies  and  business  that  cannot  sustain  it¬ 
self.  We  favor  railways,  but  they  must  be  kept  with¬ 
in  proper  bounds,  by  laws  regulating  their  charges ; 
and  we  are  in  favor  of  currency  that  is  on  a  par  with 
the  worlds  currency.  The  bill  of  exchange,  the  cer¬ 
tificate  of  deposit,  the  check  and  the  bank-note,  are 
all  proper  as  a  medium  of  exchange,  but  the  farming 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 59 

and  laboring  interest,  demand  with  the  business  men, 
that  each  and  all  of  these  forms  shall  bring  gold  upon 
demand.  We  cast  our  fortunes  then  with  the  “  Peo¬ 
ple’s  Party ’’whose  name  and  object  shall  be  “Re¬ 
form  r 


WANTED  !  A  NAME. 

BY  TAYLOR’S  BOY. 

The  officeholders,  the  Bourbons,  professional  poli¬ 
ticians  and  political  dead-beats  generally,  exercise 
their  feeble  wits  in  the  way  of  satire  and  ridicule, 
over  the  fact  that  the  new  party  of  the  people  is 
without  any  distinctive  name.  The  worst  thing  they 
can  say  against  us  is,  that  our  party  is  “  nameless.”  I 
want  to  say  in  reply  to  this  absurd  sneer,  that  while 
it  differs  from  the  Bourbon  faction,  and  the  office¬ 
holder’s  party,  in  being  a  party  without  a  name,  it 
also  differs  from  both  in  not  being  a  party  without 
principles. 

The  only  inconvenience  realized  from  the  absence 
of  a  distinctive  name  is  the  needless  tendency  of 
news  reporters  to  classify  the  candidates  we  present 
by  their  former  party  designations.  The  chairman 
of  our  convention  was  reported  as  a  “  Republican,” 
while  the  two  secretaries  were  styled  “  Democrats.” 
Now,  both  these  old  names  should  be  dropped,  with 
respect  to  all  who  enlist  in  the  new  party  of  liberty 
and  emancipation.  Both  are  names  that  belong  to  a 
past  era  in  our  history  ;  both  are  suggestive  of  fraud, 
corruption  and  oppression.  The  men  who  have 
stepped  into  the  new  era,  have  left  the  “  dead  past  ” 


l6o  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

and  its  controversies  behind,  and  are  coming  up  to 
the  study  of  the  new  situation  and  the  performance 
of  its  new  duties,  are  neither  “Republicans”  nor 
“  Democrats,”  in  the  party  sense  of  those  words. 

We  are  independents,  in  that  we  have  voluntarily 
absolved  ourselves  from  all  connection  with  old  par¬ 
ties,  and  have  declared  against  the  old  Bourbon  or 
papal  dogma  of  party  infallibility;  and  also,  that  we 
antagonize  the  practice  of  paternal  government,  and 
assert  the  independence  of  individual  man.  We  are 
“  economists,”  in  that  we  seek  to  promote  the  eco¬ 
nomic  system,  instead  of  the  monopoly  system,  by 
applying  the  established  principles  of  political  econ¬ 
omy  in  the  practice  of  government.  By  one  or  the 
other  of  these  names,  “Independents”  or  “Econo¬ 
mists,”  this  humble  Granger  thinks  our  new  party 
should  be  designated.  It  matters  not  what  men  have 
been.  Our  concern  is  merely  to  know  what  men  are 
now. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  GRAB. 

BY  PATRON  JAMES. 

The  Salary  Grab  Bill  was  first  introduced  by  Gen. 
Butler  on  behalf  of  the  Judiciary  Committee.  Two 
especially  prominent  features  suggest  themselves,  in 
following  the  consecutive  stages  of  its  progress.  First, 
those  who  advanced  the  most  convincing  arguments 
why  it  should  not  become  a  law  were  among  the  first 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  grab,  after  it  passed.  The 
second  feature  is,  that  the  law  was  only  passed  by 
means  of  what  is  generally  known  as  “parliamentary 
tactics,”  in  the  most  unfair  and  sneaking  manner. 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  l6l 

In  the  original  form  of  the  bill,  the  salary  of  a 
congressman  was  fixed  at  $8,000  a  year,  making  the 
increase  applicable  to  the  Congress  just  then  going 
out  of  existence.  It  is  therefore  clear  that  the  retro¬ 
active  feature  was  contemplated  from  the  very  first. 
In  this  shape  the  bill  was  received,  twice  read,  and  re¬ 
committed.  February  10th,  Mr.  Butler  moved  that 
the  report  on  the  increase  of  salaries  be  made  a  part 
of  the  Miscellaneous  Appropriation  bill,  for  the  con¬ 
sideration  of  the  Committee  of  the  Whole,  asking  a 
suspension  of  the  rules  for  that  purpose.  As  the  yeas 
and  nays  are  not  taken  in  the  Committee  of  the 
Whole,  this  was  a  bit  of  strategy  to  avoid  the  record¬ 
ing  of  the  votes.  Butler’s  motion  was  defeated,  and 
the  measute  started  out  with  disaster.  On  the  24th 
of  February,  the  House  sitting  as  Committee  of  the 
Whole,  Butler  introduced  a  new  Grab  bill,  making 
the  salaries  $7,500  instead  of  $8,000,  according  to  the 
original  bill,  adding  a  few  new  grabs  to  strengthen  it, 
and  making  an  appropriation  of  $1,250,000,  for  this 
purpose.  Like  all  the  other  modifications,  this  bill 
provided  for  an  increase  of  back-pay,  as  it  was  plain  at 
all  times,  that  upon  no  other  condition  would  the  retir¬ 
ing  members  support  it.  Mr.  Upson,  of  Ohio,  sought  to 
have  the  retroactive  clause  stricken  out,  but  failed,  of 
course.  The  original  Butler  grab  was  then  agreed  to 
by  a  vote  of  81  to  66.  When,  on  February  28th,  the 
Committee  of  the  Whole  rose,  Butler  again  moved  a 
suspension  of  the  rules,  and  the  adoption  of  the  bill 
with  the  amendments.  Several  gentlemen  interposed, 
calling  for  information,  when  one  of  Butler’s  tools  ex¬ 
claimed,  “We  do  not  want  information.”  Gen.  Haw- 


162 


GRAINS  FOR  TFIE  GRANGERS. 


ley  inquired  if  the  effect  of  Butler’s  motion  was  to 
cut  off  opportunity  to  have  separate  votes.  Butler 
said  of  course  it  was,  and  if  Hawley  had  been  a 
member  longer,  he  would  have  known  as  much  with¬ 
out  asking.  Congress  laughed  at  this  sally,  as  it  did . 
at  several  others  during  the  discussion.  But  the 
grabbers  now  seem  to  be  laughing  on  the  other  side 
of  their  mouths. 

The  amendment  to  the  general  bill  for  raising  the 
salaries  was  now  defeated  by  a  vote  of  sixty-nine  in 
favor  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  against.  But¬ 
ler  voted  against  it,  in  order  to  move  a  reconsideration. 
He  then  said  :  “  I  move  a  reconsideration  of  the  vote 
just  taken,  and  pending  that  motion,  I  move  that  the 
House  adjourn.”  The  motion  to  adjourn  prevailed  ; 
the  grabbers  gained  time,  and  kept  the  motion  te  re¬ 
consider  from  being  tabled.  Their  next  step  was  to 
carry  the  motion  to  reconsider,  no  matter  what  in¬ 
crease  was  fixed,  so  as  to  attach  the  provision  in  some 
form  to  the  appropriation  bill ;  then  to  have  the  Sen¬ 
ate  reject  it  if  the  sum  was  not  large  enough  ;  then 
to  secure  a  favorable  conference  committee,  and  to 
have  this  committee  report  at  a  favorable  moment, 
toward  the  close  of  the  session,  when  there  was  little 
time  for  its  consideration. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  out,  in  detail,  how  all 
this  was  accomplished.  It  is  enough  to  know  that  it 
was  accomplished,  and  by  the  same  unworthy  means 
which  were  relied  upon  to  bring  it  about  from  the 
beginning.  But  let  the  names  of  the  persons  com¬ 
posing  that  Conference  Committee  be  recorded  upon 
the  books  of  every  Grange.  They  were :  Butler, 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 63 

Randall,  and  Garfield,  from  the  House;  and  Morrill, 
Carpenter,  and  Bayard,  from  the  Senate.  Four  of 
them  were  declared  salary  grabbers.  One  (Bayard) 
was  doubtful,  and  he  finally  favored  it ;  and  one  only 
(Garfield)  was  opposed  to  it,  and  he  took  the  grab, 
after  it  was  passed.  It  is  no  wonder  that  a  favorable 
report  came  from  such  a  Conference  Committee, 
which  was  finally  agreed  to,  and  thus  became  a  law. 

It  is  a  sort  of  consolation,  that  so  vile  a  measure 
was  passed  only  by  resorting  to  the  vilest  kind  of 
tactics.  But  is  not  so  consoling  to  realize  that  so 
large  a  number  of  those  who  voted  against  the  bill, 
and  made  a  pretense  of  opposing  it  vigorously, 
availed  themselves  of  its  benefits,  as  soon  as  it  be¬ 
came  a  law.  Mr.  Garfield  is  one  of  these.  He  ex¬ 
plained  the  injustice  of  raising  congressional  salaries 
forty  per  cent.,  because  they  had  the  power  to  do  it, 
and  allowing  a  mass  of  salaries  to  remain  as  they 
are.  He  proved  that  $26,000,000,  or  one-tenth  of  all 
the  expense  of  carrying  on  the  government,  is  paid 
for  salaries.  Mr.  Dawes  made  a  plea  for  an  equaliza¬ 
tion,  by  increasing  the  salaries  of  revenue  officials, 
and  opposed  the  bill  from  this  standpoint.  Yet  both 
Garfield  and  Dawes  have  drawn  their  back  pay. 

This  “  Patron  ”  would  say  that  those  who  demon¬ 
strated  that  the  salary  grab  was  wrong,  and  subse¬ 
quently  took  it,  are  a  little  more  to  blame,  if  possible, 
than  those  who  openly  sustained  the  measure  from 
the  start.  At  all  events,  all  who  are  implicated  in 
the  grab,  by  touching  it — the  vast  majority  of  the 
last  Congress — have  become  obnoxious  to  the  people. 


164 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


THEIR  PROFITS. 

BY  A  BOSTON  PATRON. 

A  public  meeting  was  held  at  the  Boston  Commer¬ 
cial  Exchange,  September  1,  under  the  auspices  of  our 
Boston  Grange.  Mr.  J.  C.  Abbott,  General  Deputy 
of  the  National  Grange,  spoke  of  the  great  revolu¬ 
tion  that  was  going  on  in  the  country,  and  urged  the 
importance  of  putting  down  the  monopoly  of  rail¬ 
roads.  He  gave  the  statistics  of  the  earnings  of  dif¬ 
ferent  railways,  necessarily  reducing  the  profit  of  the 
farmers  to  almost  nothing.  He  contended  that  the 
cost  of  frieght  and  travel  could  be  reduced  to  a  quar¬ 
ter  of  the  present  rates,  and  considered  it  downright 
robbery  as  it  is  now  managed.  He  claimed  that  there 
should  be  a  superior  power  to  combine  and  consoli¬ 
date,  and  the  Grange  is  the  only  organization  that  has 
met  this  monopoly  with  any  degree  of  success. 

He  was  followed  by  Amasa  Walker,  who  said  it 
should  be  the  duty  of  Congress  to  interfere  and  pro¬ 
tect  the  business  interests  of  the  country.  He  spoke 
of  three  ways  in  which  the  great  object  could  be  at¬ 
tained  :  first,  by  a  general  law  fixing  the  rate  of  trav¬ 
el  and  freight  on  all  roads  in  the  country ;  second,  to 
create  new  lines  between  the  principal  depots  of 
transportation  ;  and  third,  by  purchasing  all  roads 
and  placing  them  under  government  management  to 
be  leased,  which  would  open  all  roads  to  the  public  at 
the  cheapest  rates.  He  reviewed 'all  the  different 
plans,  and  thought  the  last  the  most  feasible.  He 
considered  the  question  of  railroad  reform  a  nation¬ 
al  one,  which  would  become  a  political  question,  and 
can  only  be  achieved  by  political  action. 


GRAINS  FROM  THE  GRANARIES.  1 65 

Railway  corporations  claim  that  the  companies  are 
entitled  to  a  dividend  equal  to  the  ordinary  interest 
on  borrowed  money,  on  the  amount  of  their  capital 
invested.  That  they  have  the  right  to  exact  such 
rates  of  toll  as  will  produce  the  revenue  that  will 
yield  such  dividends.  In  other  words,  that  charges 
for  transportation  will  be  reasonable,  according  to  the 
amount  of  profit  which  is  received  therefrom.  Why 
is  this  argument  more  applicable  to  railway  compa¬ 
nies  than  to  any  other  branch  of  business  ? 

Railways  are  common  carriers,  and  are  subject  to 
the  common  law  stipulation  that  they  can  only  de¬ 
mand  reasonable  compensation  for  the  service  per¬ 
formed.  No  charter  can  give  them  the  right  to 
demand  unjust,  unreasonable,  or  extortionate  com¬ 
pensation.  To  ascertain  what  is  a  reasonable  demand 
for  such  services,  is  the  assumed  cost  of  the  road  as 
represented  by  the  capital  stock  and  debts,  a  fair  basis 
upon  which  to  make  the  estimate  ?  A  company, 
through  the  corruption  of  its  officers,  may  have  been 
forced  to  pay  $100,000  per  mile  for  construction, 
when  the  same  work  might  have  been  done  for  $40,- 
000.  The  earnings  of  the  road  may  be  squandered 
in  the  most  reckless  and  fraudulent  manner,  and  a 
balance-sheet  may  exhibit  a  very  meagre  percentage 
of  profit.  Is  the  general  public  to  be  taxed  for  all 
this ;  taxed  to  make  good  the  deficiencies  in  the  re¬ 
ceipts,  caused  by  fraud  and  bad  management? 

Railways  are  old  affairs,  and  there  ought  to  be  no 
difficulty  at  this  day  in  finding  out  what  ought  to  be 
an  honest  average  in  the  cost  of  construction  and 
equipment  of  a  road,  as  well  as  the  cost  of  mainte- 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


1 


1 66 


nance,  and  what  ought  to  be  a  fair  equivalent  for  the 
transportation  of  passengers  and  freights.  The 
amount  of  capital  stock  and  debts  ought  to  have 
but  little  weight  in  ascertaining  these  results.  In  a 
majority  of  cases,  they  are  fictitious  or  tainted  with 
fraud.  A  fair  and  reasonable  compensation  is  to  be 
ascertained  by  an  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  ser¬ 
vices  rendered,  and  not  by  finding  out  rates  that  will 
yield  ten  per  cent,  on  the  capital  invested  in  a  partic¬ 
ular  road.  It  no  more  follows  that  the  company 
must  have  ten  or  six  per  cent,  on  the  capital  invested 
than  it  does  that  the  farmer  shall  have  an  equal  rate 
of  profit  on  the  capital  invested  in  his  farm. 

Railways  are.  subject,  like  all  other  persons,  real 
and  fictitious,  to  the  great  law  of  trade,  wherein 
profit  or  loss  is  not  a  matter  of  personal  control. 
The  law  of  common  right  prohibits  them  from 
demanding  anything  more  than  a  reasonable  compen¬ 
sation  for  the  service  rendered ;  and  whether  the 
balance-sheet  of  the  company  shows  a  profit  or  loss 
does  not  in  the  least  affect  the  amount  of  this  com¬ 
pensation. 

\  «  • 


THE  TARIFF— ITS  HISTORY  AND 

INFLUENCE. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Wealth  the  Produce  of  Labor _ Adam  Smith’s  Discovery _ Law  Makers 

and  Gentry _ Political  Economy  One  Hundred  Years  Ago _ In  England  in 

1773 _ Enhanced  Protection  Increases  Embarrassments _ The  Colonial 

Policy An  Obstacle  to  the  Framers  of  the  Union _ The  First  Regular 

Tariff The  First  Tariff  Recognizing  Protection  as  a  Principle Meetings 

in  Boston  in  1820 _ Webster  on  Protection _ The  Source  of  Instability  in 

Legislation. 

It  was  quite  a  discovery  of  philosphers  in  the 
eighteenth  century  that  wealth  consisted  in  the  pro¬ 
duce  of  labor;  but  it  was.  still  supposed  that  labor 
would  not  produce  available  wealth,  unless  governed, 
guided  and  restricted  by  laws  enacted  by  those  who 
never  labored  themselves.  Adam  Smith  was  the  first 
who  clearly  demonstrated  that  there  is  wealth  in  all 
labor,  and  that  governmental  enactments  do  not  and 
cannot  enhance  the  national  wealth  in  the  smallest 
degree ;  that  their  only  effect  is,  by  restraining  indus¬ 
try,  to  diminish  the  aggregate  amount,  while  they 
transfer  the  most  of  it  from  the  hands  of  the  pro¬ 
ducers,  to  whom  it  belongs,  to  those  of  law  makers 
and  gentry.  These  latter,  in  a  state  of  limited  suf¬ 
frage,  constituted  the  nation ;  and  those  laws  which 

accumulated  wealth  in  their  hands  were  to  them 

167  1 1 


1 68  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

visibly  beneficial,  notwithstanding  that  the  vast  mass 
of  unrepresented  producers  of  that  wealth  were  im¬ 
poverished.  As  long  as  free  trade  was  not  tried,  it 
was  easy  to  denounce  it  as  a  wild  and  ruinous  chi¬ 
mera.  When,  however,  in  the  lapse  of  years  and  the 
progress  of  popular  rights,  increased  general  pros¬ 
perity  and  an  improved  condition  of  the  laboring 
class  attended  the  abolition  of  every  time-honored 
restriction,  the  scales  fell  from  the  eyes  of  the  people, 
and  they  awoke  to  the  wrongs  they  had  suffered 
under  the  name  of  “  Protection.”  It  is  a  little  over 
an  hundred  years  since  the  enactment  of  a  law  of 
parliament,  prohibiting  the  wearing  of  all  printed 
calicoes  whatsoever,  either  of  foreign  or  domestic 
origin.  When  we  read  the  Spectator ,  enjoying  the 
didactic  humor  and  trim  morality  of  Addison,  who 
did  so  much  to  advance  the  art  of  prose,  we  scarcely 
reflect  that  so  low  was  the  science  of  political  econo¬ 
my,  in  his  day,  that  the  a'bove  barbarous  sumptuary 
law  was  enacted,  some  years  subsequently,  by  sapient 
legislators,  at  the  bidding  of  a  London  mob,  for  rea¬ 
sons,  too,  that  have  been  repeated  in  our  own  Congress, 
in  favor  of  “protection.”  The  law,  after  ten  years, 
was  modified,  when  British  calicoes  were  tolerated, 
provided  the  warp  was  linen,  on  the  payment  of  6d 
sterling  per  yard.  The  same  prejudice  existed 
in  France  against  printed  cottons,  the  use  of  which 
was  supposed  to  injure  the  consumption  of  French 
flax.  When  the  government  intimated  a  project  for 
permitting  the  free  manufacture  of  cotton,  the  Rouen 
deputies  declared  to  the  government  that  the  “  in¬ 
tended  measure  would  throw  its  inhabitants  into 


THE  TARIFF. 


169 


despair,  and  make  a  desert  of  the  surrounding  coun¬ 
try.”  Those  of  Lyons  said  “the  news  had  spread 
terror  through  all  its  work  shops.”  Amiens  said, 
that  “the  law  would  be  the  grave  of  the  manufac¬ 
turing  industry  of  France.  Paris  declared  that  “her 
merchants  came  forward  to  bathe  the  throne  with 
their  tears,  upon  that  inauspicious  occurrence.” 
These  phrases  are  now  in  the  mouths  of  politicians 
in  free  America.  The  protectionists  appear  to  have 
borrowed,  not  only  the  cast-off  theories,  but  even  the 
phrases  of  European  monarchists. 

The  French  government  passed  the  law,  and  Rouen, 
Lyons,  and  Amiens  soon  reaped  unexampled  manu¬ 
facturing  prosperity  ;  not  that  the  new  law  did  them 
any  good,  but  the  old  law  ceased  to  do  evil.  The 
style  of  French  calicoes,  so  great  has  been  the 
progress  of  the  art,  can  not  now  be  excelled,  nor  their 
designs  equalled. 

In  England,  in  1 773,  the  silk-weavers  of  Spitalfields 
were  protected  by  a  legalized  list  of  prices  and  high 
duties.  They  enjoyed  a  close  monopoly  of  the  home 
market  for  half  a  century,  yet  the  public  ear  was  con¬ 
stantly  assailed  with  the  story  of  their  miseries. 
These  protective  laws  were  altogether  repealed  in 
1822,  and  the  silk  trade  thrown  open ;  universal  ruin 
and  starvation  were  the  least  of  the  evils  predicted 
as  the  consequence.  The  result  has  been  an  increase 
of  200  per  cent,  in  the  manufacture,  and  a  fair  degree 
of  prosperity  among  the  operatives.  The  same 
prosperity  has  uniformly  attended  every  business 
from  which  “protection”  has  been  withdrawn,  and 
practical  experience  has  demolished  forever  the 


170 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


absurd  theory  of  helping  those  who  cannot  help 
themselves.  In  the  United  States,  where  all  other 
liberal  principles  have  gained  such  vigorous  growth, 
protective  oppression  has  been  clung  to  with  greater 
tenacity  than  even  in  Great  Britain. 

It  has  ever  been  experienced  that  tariff  laws  passed 
for  the  encouragement  and  protection  of  manufac¬ 
turers  have  been  followed  by  great  distress  among 
those  manufacturers,  and  that  this  distress  has  caused 
renewed  clamors  for  more  efficient  protection,  to  the 
want  of  which  the  difficulties,  whether  arising  from 
ignorance,  improvidence,  or  incapacity,  are  always  at¬ 
tributed.  Enhanced  protection  as  uniformly  increases 
the  embarassments.  The  reason  is  a  very  natural  one. 
The  enactment  of  a  law  avowedly  to  give,  persons 
who  will  manufacture  a  particular  article  the  monop¬ 
oly  of  the  home  market,  as  a  special  reward  or  bounty 
for  so  doing,  tempts  many  persons  deficient  in  capi¬ 
tal  or  the  necessary  information  to  undertake  the 
business.  They  hope  to  get,  through  the  operation 
of  law,  more  than  the  fair  profits  of  regular  business  ; 
that,  without  being  obliged  to  exercise  their  whole 
faculties,  ingenuity  and  skill,  they  will  be  able  to  make 
more  money  than  the  most  skillful  and  ingenious  arti¬ 
sans  already  in  business.  The  experiment  is  not 
attended  with  success,  and  they  then  clamor  for  more 
protection.  They  allege,  and  with  some  show  of  rea¬ 
son,  that  the  government  tempted  them  to  leave  a 
business  comparatively  successful,  to  withdraw  their 
capital  from  pursuits  in  which  it  yielded  a  profit,  and 
embark  in  new  enterprises  from  patriotic  motives  ;  that 
they  are  suffering  losses  in  consequence,  and  ought  to 


THE  TARIFF. 


171 


be  remunerated ;  that  more  restrictive  laws  ought  to 
be  framed  for  their  benefit.  The  waste  of  time  and 
capital  thus  brought  about  is  a  great  national  calam¬ 
ity.  Probably  more  labor  and  money  has  been  wast¬ 
ed  in  this  manner  since  the  formation  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  than  all  now  engaged  in  manufactures. 

Up  to  the  time  when  the  colonies  separated  from 
the  mother  country,  the  colonial  and  protective  policy 
was  almost  undisputed.  But  a  few  years  before  that, 
even,  as  we  have  seen,  parliament  enacted  laws  pro¬ 
hibiting  the  use  of  certain  materials  for  clothing,  not 
of  native  growth.  Such  barbarous  tyranny  was  just 
beginning  to  be  seen  in  its  true  light.  The  clear  de¬ 
monstrations  of  Smith  were  disturbing  the  theories, 
but  not  affecting  the  practice,  of  commercial  legisla¬ 
tion.  The  colonial  system  was  in  most  vigorous  op¬ 
eration.  The  spirit  of  that  system  was,  after  having 
formed  distant  settlements,  to  profit  by  them  by  mo¬ 
nopolizing  their  trade.  The  colony  was  permitted  to 
trade  only  with  England.  It  was  compelled  to  buy 
all  its  manufactures  of  the  mother  country, at  a  price* 
dictated  by  it,  and  to  sell  all  its  raw  produce  to  it  on¬ 
ly.  The  prohibition  of  manufactures  here,  and  the 
restrictions  upon  trade  that  now  could  not  be  tole¬ 
rated  for  a  moment,  were  then,  in  the  low  state  of 
political  economy,  less  complained  of  than  really  a 
lesser  evil,  the  direct  tax,  which  was  the  immediate 
cause  of  separation. 

The  independence  of  the  colonies  being  established, 
it  was  but  natural  that  the  idea  of  encouraging  man¬ 
ufactures  here  should  immediately  present  itself  as  a 
counter-policy  to  the  prohibitive  system  of  the  moth- 


172  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

er-country.  There  were,  however,  thirteen  sovereign 
and  independent  colonies,  each  of  which  possessed 
and  exercised  the  power  of  imposing  taxes  on  im¬ 
ports,  and  of  protecting  its  own  internal  industry 
against  the  rivalry,  not  only  of  Great  Britain,  but  of 
other  states.  The  surrender  of  this  right  into  the 
hands  of  the  Federal  Government  was  one  of  the 
greatest  obstacles  the  framers  of  the  Union  had  to 
encounter.  The  Customs’  Union  was  finally  perfected, 
yielding  to  Congress  the  power,  precisely  as  of  later 
years  the  German  States  have  formed  the  Zollverein. 
It  was  at  first  acquiesced  in  as  the  only  possible 
means  of  providing  for  the  public  debt.  Subsequent¬ 
ly  the  power  was  embodied  in  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  first  regular  tariff  under  it  was 
passed  July  4,  1789. 

The  preamble  of  this  law  set  forth  that  it  was 
“  necessary  for  the  support  of  the  government,  for  the 
discharge  of  the  debts  of  the  Uuited  States,  and  the 
encouragement  and  protection  of  manufactures,  that 
duties  be  laid,”  etc.  The  moderation  of  this  view  is 
sufficiently  striking,  when  we  take  into  consideration 
the  state  of  the  public  mind  in  Europe,  on  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  political  economy.  There  were  no  prohibitory 
views  entertained  in  the  act,  but  the  idea  of  the  inci¬ 
dental  protection  that  the  necessary  duties  would  af¬ 
ford  to  the  manufactures  started  into  life  during  the 
war,  was  held  out  to  counteract,  in  some  degree,  the 
popular  prejudices  against  all  taxation.  The  politi¬ 
cal  prejudice  against  British  goods  which  existed  be¬ 
fore  the  war  was  appealed  to  under  the  Union  to 
make  taxation  palatable.  The  number  of  the  popu- 


THE  TARIFF. 


173 


lation  was  then  3,500,000,  and  the  debt  sixty-five  mil¬ 
lion  dollars.  The  tax  levied  by  the  new  law  to  pro¬ 
vide  for  these  wants  amounted  to  five  per  cent,  only 
on  manufactured  goods,  twelve  and  one-half  per  cent, 
on  teas  and  China  goods,  with  specific  duties  on 
British  and  West  India  goods. 

There  was  no  discrimination  of  duties  with  the 
view  to  protection.  The  taxes  appear  to  have  been 
laid  solely  with  the  view  to  the  revenue  they  would 
yield,  and  protection  was  entirely  incidental  to  those 
taxes,  and  advanced  to  make  them  palatable.  Al¬ 
though  the  law  embraced  this  idea  of  protection,  the 
principle  was  very  far  from  being  agreed  in  by  all  the 
great  men  of  the  time.  The  sound  and  clear  mind 
of  Benjamin  Franklin  was  in  advance  of  the  age 
upon  this  subject,  and  his  pen  ably  exposed  the  falla¬ 
cies  of  the  protective  notion.  The  public  mind,  how¬ 
ever,  was  not  sufficiently  ripe  to  discard  the  sophisms, 
which  were  not  only  generally  believed  in,  but  acted 
upon  by  the  governments  of  Europe ;  and  the  re¬ 
port  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  on  manufactures,  in  1791,  re¬ 
iterating  the  popular  fallacies,  retarded  the  spread  of 
sound  views. 

This  tariff  went  into  operation  August  1,  1789, 
and  was  supplanted  by  a  new  tariff,  December  1, 
1790.  The  amount  of  imports  under  it  was,  $23,000,- 
000,  and  the  revenues  were  $2,239,746,  being  rather 
less  than  an  average  of  ten  per  cent.  The  tariff  of 
August  10,  1790,  went  into  operation  December  1st 
of  that  year,  and  continued  until  June  30,  1792.  This 
act  was  of  the  same  general  character  as  that  which 
preceded  it,  with  the  exception  of  advanced  rates. 


174 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


That  is  to  say,  woolens,  cottons,  silks,  and  most  manu¬ 
factures  were  advanced  from  5  to  7^  per  cent,  ad 
valorem ,  which  was  considered  so  important  an  ad¬ 
vance  as  to  require  a  special  apologetic  report  from 
Mr.  Hamilton,  who  was  a  Protectionist.  In  May, 
1792,  a  new  tariff  law,  entitled  “an  act  to  raise 
a  further  sum  of  money  for  the  protection  of 
the  frontiers,”  etc.,  was  passed.  This  took  effect 
June  30,  1792,  and  continued  two  years.  Under  it 
the  importations  were  $65,700,000,  and  the  duties 
$15,186,823,  being  223^  per  cent.  In  June,  1794,  a 
new  tariff  took  effect,  which,  with  an  explanatory  act 
of  the  following  year,  continued  until  June  30,  179 7. 
Under  it  the  imports  were  $226,571,838,  and  the 
duties  $37,61 1,521,  or  more  than  16  per  cent.  The 
act  of  March  3,  1797,  continued  to  June  30,  1800, 
and  under  it  the  imports  were  $238,873,5 16,  and  the 
duties  $42,657,876,  or  18  per  cent.  The  tariffs  of 
March  26  and  27,  1804,  were  in  force  until  July,  1812. 
The  imports  during  the  eight  years  were  $720,730,- 
000,  and  the  duties  $141,379,824,  an  annual  average 
of  20  per  cent.  The  law  of  July  1,  1812,  continued 
in  force  until  July,  1816.  It  simply  provided  that 
the  duties  imposed  by  the  act  of  1804  should  be 
doubled.  The  effect  of  such  a  requirement,  if  the 
operations  of  trade  were  ^ot  changed  by  it,  would 
be  to  double  the  revenues  on  the  same  amount  of 
imports.  This  was,  however,  far  from  being  the  case. 
The  imports  during  the  four  years  of  its  action  were 
$295,114,274,  and  the  duties  $82,315,140,  or  28  per 
cent. 

Had  the  law  produced  the  anticipated  amount  of 


THE  TARIFF. 


175 


revenue,  the  duties  would  have  been  $113,000,000  or 
40  per  cent.  The  higher  taxes,  as  is  usually  the  case, 
when  they  were  too  onerous,  were  evaded  or  avoided. 
The  commercial  influence  of  a  war  is  the  same  as 
that  of  an  ultra-protective  policy.  The  vigilance  of 
an  active  enemy  more  effectually  “protects”  the 
home-manufacturer  than  can  any  parchment-edicts  in 
time  of  peace.  It  therefore  comes  to  be  true  that 
the  enormous  prices  obtained  for  those  goods,  usually 
imported,  forces  into  life  the  manufacture  of  substi¬ 
tutes  of  all  descriptions.  These  are  usually  poor  in 
quality  and  extravagant  in  price.  The  hardships 
thus  inflicted  upon  the  consumer  form  one  of  the 
greatest  evils  of  a  state  of  hostility.  When,  how¬ 
ever,  peace  returned,  it  found  a  large  population  who 
had  been  driven  or  tempted  into  these  pursuits  by 
the  state  of  affairs  incident  to  the  war,  and  their 
wares  were  now  to  be  exposed  to  the  competition  of 
the  large  stocks  of  similar  goods  that  had  accumu¬ 
lated  abroad.  The  latter  offered  to  consumers  a 
much  better  and  cheaper  supply.  Those  who,  during 
the  war,  were  deprived  of  accustomed  comforts  or 
luxuries,  by  the  high  price  demanded  for  the  domes¬ 
tic  article,  had  them  once  more  within  their  reach. 
Unskillful  products  of  domestic  manufacture  could 
not  withstand  the  competition,  and  they  demanded 
of  the  government  to  interpose  and  prolong,  by  pro¬ 
tective  laws,  the  evils  which  had  attended  the  war. 
They  required  that  consumers  should  continue  to 
pay  exorbitant  prices  to  shield  them  from  a  whole¬ 
some  competition.  In  the  same  manner  the  interests, 
that  were  created  in  England  by  the  war,  were  ruined 


176 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


by  the  peace;  a  suspension  of  the  Bank  of  England 
for  twenty  years  had  filled  the  country  with  a  depre¬ 
ciated  paper  currency,  according  to  which  all  property 
was  valued,  and  outstanding  obligations  measured. 
The  persons  so  interested  exerted  themselves  to  pre¬ 
vent  a  return  to  specie  payments,  and  succeeded 
until  1821,  when  the  bill,  known  as  the  “  Peel  Act,” 
compelled  a  return  to  specie  payments,  commencing 
that  series  of  commercial  and  financial  reform  which 
that  able  minister  brought  to  a  successful  issue  in 
1846.  In  the  United  States  the  demand  of  the  war 
interests  for  protection  was  aided  by  a  false  patriot¬ 
ism,  which  supposed  that,  having  suffered  wrongs 
from  the  English  government,  we  could  obtain  redress 
by  refusing  to  exchange  benefits  with  the  English 
people.  The  tariff  of  1816,  was  the  first  framed  to 
recognize  protection  as  a  principle,  and  not  incidental 
to  the  taxing  power. 

This  tariff  continued  in  operation  ten  years.  The 
protective  system  having  once  started,  continued  rap¬ 
idly  to  grow,  because  it  is  its  nature  to  “  make  the 
meat  it  feeds  on.”  In  1818,  a  new  tariff  was  enacted, 
which  continued  six  years  in  force,  but  the  operation 
of  these  onerous  taxes  was  soon  found  to  be  injurious 
in  the  extreme  to  all  other  interests.  The  commer¬ 
cial  classes  were  particularly  aggrieved  by  it. 
The  influential  New  England  interests  were  then 
commercial,  and  were  suffering  under  the  oppression 
they  endured  for  the  benefit  of  the  manufacturers. 
They  took  measures  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the 
protective  principle.  In  the  year  1820,  the  leading 
men  of  Boston  called  meetings  at  Faneuil  Hall,  the 


THE  TARIFF. 


1 17 


old  “cradle  of  liberty,”  and  at  an  adjourned  meeting, 
held  Oct.  3,  1820,  the  whole  principle  of  Protection 
was  denounced  as  hostile  to  the  interests  of  the 
country,  oppressive  to  all  manufacturers  of  small  cap¬ 
ital,  and  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  the  Con¬ 
stitution  and  sound  policy.  On  this  occasion,  Daniel 
Webster  made  a  most  unanswerable  speech  upon  the 
unconstitutionality  and  inexpediency  of  the  protect¬ 
ive  policy.  A  paragraph  or  two  from  this  address, 
are  given  here : 

“  It  would  hardly  be  contended,  that  Congress  pos¬ 
sessed  that  sort  of  general  power  by  which  it  might 
declare  that  particular  occupations  should  be  pursued 

in  society,  and  that  others  should  not.  If  such  power 
belonged  to  any  government  in  this  country,  it  cer¬ 
tainly  did  not  belong  to  the  general  government. 
The  question  was,  therefore,  and  he  thought  it  a  very 
serious  question,  whether,  in  laying  duties  under  the 
authority  to  lay  imposts,  obviously  given  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  revenue,  Congress  can,  reasonably  and  fairly, 
lose  sight  of  those  purposes  entirely,  and  levy  duties 
for  other  objects.  Congress  may  tax  the  land !  but 
it  would  be  a  strange  proposition  if  Congress  should 
be  asked  to  lay  a  land  tax  for  the  direct  purpose  of 
withdrawing  capital  from  agriculture ,  and  sending 
those  engaged  in  it  to  other  pursuits.  The  power, 
however ,  exists  in  one  case  as  much  as  in  the  other . 

“  For  his  own  part,  he  had  supposed  that  restrictions 
on  trade  and  commerce,  in  order  to  benefit  particu¬ 
lar,  classes  of  manufactures,  were  now  very  generally 
understood  to  be  mischievous,  and  inconsistent  with 
just  notions  of  political  economy. 

“  And,  after  all,  how  few  of  all  the  members  of 
society  are  to  be  benefited  by  this  system,  so  artifi¬ 
cially  and  elaborately  constructed.  Certainly  not  all 


1 78 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


manufacturers,  nor  all  mechanics — but  a  particular 
class  only. 

“  Manufacturing  capital  comes,  in  the  end,  to  be 
owned  but  by  few.  It  does  not,  therefore,  encourage 
industry,  like  capital  employed  in  some  other  pur¬ 
suits.  The  case  of  the  establishment  mentioned  in 
the  Report  was  in  point  to  this  argument.  Half  a 
million  of  dollars  gives  employment  to  two  hundred 
and  sixty-five  persons,  and  those  principally  women 
and  children.  Now,  what  employment  of  that  sum, 
in  almost  any  other  pursuit,  could  fail  to  demand  and 
require  more  human  labor?  If  vested  in  agriculture, 
the  sum  would  command  good  and  productive  land 
sufficient  to  employ,  he  might  almost  say,  all  the  cot¬ 
ton  spinners  in  the  United  States.” 

Our  limits  compel  us  to  anticipate.  Indirect  taxes 
finally  reached  a  point  at  which  they  diminished  the 
revenue.  The  new  government  of  1842  reversed  the 
whole  system  by  imposing  direct  taxes  upon  the 

property  of  the  country  and  removing  the  indirect 

taxes,  which  fell  mostly  on  labor .  In  this  country 
experience  has  already  developed  the  fact,  that  pro¬ 
tection  is  a  source  of  most  baneful  instability  in  leg¬ 
islation  ;  that  it  continually  arrays  those  who  seek 
special  privileges  against  the  government ;  and  that 
the  great  desideratum  of  uniform  and  permanent  laws 
cannot  be  attained,  as  long  as  indirect  taxes  open  the 
door  to  the  award  of  bounties. 


LABOR  REFORM. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Capital  and  Labor _ Monopolists  and  Land  Tenures _ “Protection  to 

Industry.” _ Its  Nobility  and  Gentry _ Demand  and  Supply _ What  con¬ 
stitutes  the  Greatest  Burden _ What  Labor  Demands,  etc.,  etc. 

It  is  undeniably  true  that  all  the  wealth  of  the 
world  is  the  product  of  industry,  and  that  what  is 
called  “capital”  is  the  mere  accumulation  through 
economy  of  a  portion  of  that  which  has  been  pro¬ 
duced  by  labor.  The  possessors  of  this  accumula¬ 
tion  have,  in  all  ages,  derived  a  profit  by  loaning  it 
to  producers,  and  the  general  tendency  of  legislation, 
as  governments  advanced,  was  to  increase  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  the  produced  wealth  which  fell  to  capital¬ 
ists,  and  to  diminish,  of  course,  the  share  which  those 
who  produced  it  might  retain  to  their  own  use. 
When  military  conquerors,  like  the  Norman  bastard, 
divided  among  their  followers  and  adherents  the 
territory  overrun  by  their  arms,  the  occupants  of 
the  lands  became  the  serfs  of  the  landlords,  and  the 
whole  wealth  of  the  country,  less  the  maintenance 
of  the  workers,  belonged  to  its  lords.  As  the  feudal 
system  fell  into  decay,  and  the  corporations  of  towns 
freed  the  manufacturers  and  trades  -  people  from 
servitude  to  barons,  the  number  of  independent 

cultivators  increased,  until  gradually  the  whole 

1 79 


i8o 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


people  became  personally  free.  A  new  system  then 
developed  itself.  The  personal  service  of  tenants 
was  no  longer  demanded  by  the  lord,  nor  that  of  the 
latter  required  by  the  king  as  lord  paramount  ;  but 
monopolies  succeeded  to  fiefs,  and  special  trading 
and  manufacturing  privileges,  rather  than  land  ten¬ 
ures,  became  the  means  by  which  the  government 
rallied  to  its  support  the  magnates  of  the  land. 
Instead  of  giving  a  military  follower  a  tract  of  land, 
with  the  right  to  the  produce  raised  upon  it  by  its 
occupiers,  it  gave  to  its  parliamentary  supporters 
the  exclusive  right  of  selling  to  those  people  the 
supplies  they  must  purchase  with  their  labor.  As 
the  monopolists  charged  more  than  the  free-traders, 
the  producers  were  thus  compelled  to  give  up  indi¬ 
rectly  a  portion  of  their  labor  for  the  support  of  a 
crown  favorite.  The  only  difference  here  was  that 
the  military  chief  took  directly  from  the  producer  a 
portion  of  that  which  he  produced,  while  the  crown 
favorite  attained  the  same  end  in  the  shape  of  a 
price  for  articles  sold  to  the  cultivators  become  free. 
This  system  was  gradually  refined  upon,  and  as  it 
became  distasteful  to  those  people  who,  having 
obtained  their  personal  independence,  wished  for 
commercial  freedom,  it  was  called  “  protection  to 
industry.”  But,  like  all  advantages  granted  by  gov¬ 
ernment  to  a  class,  it  was  at  the  expense  of  another 
class. 

Thus,  in  1534,  the  city  of  Worcester,  and  the  towns 
of  Eversham,  Droitwich,  Kidderminster,  and  Broms- 
grove,  petitioned  parliament  to  the  effect,  that  the  in¬ 
habitants  of  said  cities  were  mostly  employed  in  the 


LABOR  REFORM. 


181 


manufacture  of  woolen  cloths,  and  that  within  a  few 
years,  “  divers  persons  dwelling  in  hamlets,  thorps  and 
villages,  make  all  manner  of  cloth,  and  exercise  weav¬ 
ing,  fulling  and  shearing,  within  their  houses,  to  the 
great  depopulation  of  said  towns.”  For  these  cogent 
reasons,  the  wise  parliament  enacted,  25  Henry  VIII, 
that  “no  person  within  Worcestershire  shall  make  any 
cloth,  but  the  proper  inhabitants  of  said  towns  and 
city,  excepting  the  persons  who  make  cloths  solely  for 
their  own  and  family’s  wearing.” 

The  town  of  Brentford  obtained  a  similar  grant 
relative  to  rope-making,  with  the  addition  of  com¬ 
pelling  all  hemp-growers  in  the  country  to  sell  said 
material  only  in  that  town.  It  was  in  this  manner 
that  the  growing  corporations  obtained  from  a  partial 
prince  advantages  at  the  expense  of  the  growers  of 
the  raw  material.  As  these  latter  became  more  pow¬ 
erful,  so  as  to  make  their  voices  heard  in  the  nation¬ 
al  councils,  such  barefaced  infringements  of  their 
rights  could  not  be  continued,  and  to  prolong  the 
same  system,  further  disguise  was  necessary.  The 
funding  system,  towards  the  close  of  the  17th  century, 
developed  its  powers  to  the  same  general  end ;  and 
for  more  than  150  years,  fundholders,  landlords,  man¬ 
ufacturers,  and  government  officials  have  conspired 
under  the  plea  of  “protection  to  home  industry,”  to 
appropriate  more  effectually  than  could  have  been  done 
by  feudal  tenures,  all  the  proceeds  of  national  labor. 
Down  to  the  year  1842,  this  protective  system  re¬ 
mained  in  full  force,  producing,  as  the  inevitable  re¬ 
sult,  a  nobility  and  gentry  of  enormous  wealth,  daz¬ 
zling  the  world,  like  the  phosphoric  light  emitted  by 


182 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


corrupt  substances,  with  the  gorgeousness  of  their 
display  from  amidst  millions  of  paupers,  entirely  des¬ 
titute  of  any  portion  of  that  immense  wealth  which 
their  industry  had  created.  The  system  of  indirect 
taxes,  or  taxes  upon  articles  consumed  by  the  indus¬ 
trious,  to  the  exemption  of  the  property  amassed  by 
the  few,  was  the  instrument  by  which  all  the  wealth 
of  the  country  had  become  accumulated  in  a  few 
hands.  Capital  had,  however,  obtained  the  largest 
share  of  the  general  wealth,  and  so  little  was  left  to 
those  who  had  produced  it.  that  the  government  rev¬ 
enues  began  to  fail.  The  operation  of  the  corn  laws 
was  eminently  calculated  for  this  end. 

It  is  easily  understood  that  the  annual  product  of 
a  nation’s  industry  is  that  which  constitutes  its  means 
of  expenditure  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  support  of  the 
wealthy,  of  the  professional  classes, of  the  “paupers” 
and  of  the  government.  Under  the  system  of  indi¬ 
rect  taxes,  capitalists  draw  a  larger  share  of  the  an¬ 
nual  products  than  when  there  are  no  restrictions; 
and  the  larger  the  share  these  obtain,  the  greater  is 
the  sum  required  for  impoverished  laborers,  called 
“  paupers,”  the  smaller  is  the  surplus  left  to  producers 
for  the  purchase  of  supplies ;  and  consequently  the 
more  difficult  is  it  for  the  government  to  procure  suf¬ 
ficient  revenue.  Thus,  suppose  the  annual  revenue 
is  one  hundred — of  which  producers  consume  fifty, 
capital  twenty,  professions  ten,  “paupers”  ten, and  the 
government  ten.  If,  now,  by  protective  laws,  the 
share  of  capital  is  increased  to  thirty,  then  labor  will 
get  but  thirty-seven  and  one-half,  because  “paupers” 
will  increase  by  that  diminution  to  fifteen,  and  the 


LABOR  REFORM.  I 83 

• 

share  of  the  professions  will  fall  to  seven  and  one- 
half,  while,  the  revenues  of  the  government  falling 
upon  thirty-seven  and  one-half  instead  of  fifty,  the 
share  of  labor  will  be  raised  with  great  difficulty. 
They  will  be  so  diminished,  ultimately,  that  govern¬ 
ment  must  turn  upon  capital  as  its  only  resource,  and 
this  is  precisely  what  was  done  in  Great  Britain  in 
1842.  The  capital  of  the  nation  was  not  sufficiently 
distributed  to  keep  its  industry  employed,  and  en¬ 
lightened  statesmen  saw  that  reaction  had  become  in- 
evitable ;  that  industry  must  henceforth  be  relieved 
of  taxation,  while  the  expenses  of  government  must 
be  drawn  from  accumulated  wealth,  by  direct  impost. 

It  is  the  interchange  of  surpluses  that  constitutes 
foreign  trade,  and  it  is  evident  on  a  very  little  reflec¬ 
tion,  that  it  is  to  the  last  degree  necessary  to  the  na¬ 
tional  industry  that  a  disposition  should  be  made  of 
this  surplus.  In  the  United  States,  land  is  the  chief 
capital.  In  the  densely  populated  countries  of  the 
old  world,  labor  is  the  chief  capital  of  the  people. 
It  follows  very  clearly,  that  the  products  of  land  will 
constitute  the  surplus  which  the  United  States  have 
to  sell,  and  the  products  of  labor  that  which  the 
countries  of  Europe  can  best  spare.  If  the  occupi¬ 
ers  and  cultivators  of  American  land  are  prohibited 
from  taking  in  payment  for  their  surplus  the  products 
of  the  cheap  labor  of  Europe,  one  of  two  things 
must  happen :  they  must  take  far  less  of  the  product 
of  factory  labor  for  the  produce  of  their  land  labor, 
or  domestic  factory  labor  must  compete  with  foreign 
in  supplying  goods  to  land  labor.  The  theory  of 
the  protectionists  is,  that  after  a  short  period  of  pro- 


184  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

tection,  home  labor  will  furnish  products  as  cheaply  as 
foreign  labor ;  that  is,  the  reward  of  American  labor 
will  be  so  diminished  that  it  will  not  exceed  that  of 
the  European  laborer,  and  therefore  the  land  cultiva¬ 
tors  can  trade  with  them  to  as  good  advantage  as 
with  the  “pauper  laborers”  of  Europe.  This  will  no 
doubt  be  the  case,  because,  as  the  world  has  seen  in 
the  example  of  England,  the  tendency  of  the  protec¬ 
tive  system  is  to  impoverish  labor  and  enrich  capital ; 
but,  in  the  meantime,  the  market  of  the  cultivator  has 
been  destroyed.  A  law  which  shall  prohibit  the  tak¬ 
ing  in  payment  the  surplus  production  of  those  who 
would  buy  our  surplus  produce  operates  as  a  prohi¬ 
bition  upon  the  sale  of  the  latter.  The  direct  effect 
of  retaining  the  surplus  in  the  country  is  to  sink  the 
exchangeable  value  of  the  whole  production,  a  cir¬ 
cumstance  which  confines  the  sales  to  the  farms  most 
contiguous  to  market,  and  utterly  deprives  the  distant 
cultivator  of  his  market,  and  as  effectually  deprives 
him  of  the  means  of  living  as  if  he  were  deprived  of 
his  land.  This  is  the  same  object  sought  now  by  man¬ 
ufacturers  as  that  obtained  directly  through  the  en¬ 
actments  of  Henry  VIII.,  before  quoted,  viz  :  to  com¬ 
pel  producers  to  sell  only  to  certain  manufacturers, 
who  give  what  they  please. 

The  demand  for  commodities,  in  any  country,  is 
equivalent  to  supply  ;  no  man  produces  any  article  but 
because  he  wants  that  article,  or  something  which  he 
can  procure  for  it.  The  articles  which  he  produces, 
beyond  what  he  consumes,  constitute  a  stock  which 
he  may  give  in  exchange  for  other  commodities.  If 
he  desires  one  thing  and  produces  another,  it  is  only 


I  r —  ■  '  ^ 

LABOR  REFORM.  I  85 

because  the  thing  which  he  desires  can  be  obtained 
by  means  of  the  thing  which  he  produces,  and  better 
so  obtained  than  if  he  had  endeavored  to  produce  it 
himself.  Every  man  wishes  for  the  comforts  and 
necessaries  of  life,  house,  food,  clothing,  etc.,  all,  in¬ 
deed,  of  the  multifarious  productions  of  industry, 
familiar  to  civilized  life.  This  wish  for  commodities, 
accompanied  by  equivalents  to  give  for  them,  consti¬ 
tutes  demand.  If  a  man  is  possessed  of  equivalents, 
but  has  no  wish  for  other  commodities,  there  is  no 
demand;  if  he  has  the  wish,  but  no  equivalents,  the 
demand  fails.  The  wish  for  commodities  prompts 
the  desire  to  produce  equivalents.  For  this  purpose, 
capital  of  some  sort  is  indispensable.  In  this  coun¬ 
try,  the  place  of  refuge  for  the  poor  of  all  nations, 
comparatively  speaking,  no  capital  but  land  exists. 
The  labor  of  the  individual,  applied  to  this  land, 
soon  places  him  in  possession  of  equivalents,  and  the 
demand  is  complete.  But  necessarily,  “  supply,” 
which  is  demand  for  his  equivalent,  must  come  from 
others  than  land  cultivators.  His  commodities  are 
the  same  as  their  own.  The  supply,  then,  must  come 
from  capital  and  labor,  and  in  order  that  the  strug¬ 
gling  cultivator  may  profit  most  by  his  means,  he 
should  exchange  with  that  capital  and  labor  which  is 
most  abundant,  or  which  will  give  most  of  the  com¬ 
modities  he  seeks,  in  exchange  for  what  he  has  pro¬ 
duced.  They  demand  his  produce  and  he  demands 
their  goods,  and  each  supplies  the  other,  demand  and 
supply  being  exchangeable  terms.  The  cheaper 
the  labor  with  which  he  exchanges,  the  more  rapidly 
will  lie  profit  by  the  trade,  and  his  wants  will  increase 


1 86  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

with  his  success.  To  interpose  laws  among  a  com' 

munity  of  cultivators,  which  shall  compel  one  portion 
to  give  such  enormous  prices  for  the  commodities 
they  desire  as  to  induce  some  of  their  number  to 
abandon  cultivation  and  undertake  to  manufacture 
the  desired  articles,  is  to  render  the  abandoned  land 
valueless,  and  to  deprive  the  cultivators  of  the  bal¬ 
ance  of  a  portion  of  that  which  they  might  have  ob¬ 
tained  for  their  labor.  Land  here  is  very  abundant 
and  very  cheap ;  the  mode  of  making  it  available  is 
to  exchange  its  products  with  those  countries  where 
land  is  dear  and  labor  cheap.  The  effect  of  such  ex¬ 
change  is  to  enrich  the  land  occupiers,  and  to  accu¬ 
mulate  capital  in  the  country,  which  must  and  will 
find  employment.  The  wish  for  other  things,  to 
which  this  capital  will  give  effect,  constitutes  the  de¬ 
mand  on  which  manufacturing  prosperity  will  be 
built  up  surely  and  permanently.  The  large  majority 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States  are  cultivators, 
and  it  is  from  their  demand  for  goods,  that  manufac¬ 
turers  are  to  look  for  a  market  for  their  wares.  As  we 
have  seen,  the  demand  for  wares  is  a  combination 
of  wish  and  equivalents.  These  latter  are  food  and 
raw  materials,  and  where  a  large  majority  of  the 
people  are  producers  of  them,  considerable  quanti¬ 
ties,  above  the  wants  of  all  the  people  in  the  country, 
will  exist  and,  as  far  as  that  surplus  goes,  the  demand 
for  goods  will  cease,  unless  it  can  be  disposed  of  out 
of  the  country.  To  prevent  such  a  disposition  of  it, 
by  prohibiting  a  return  of  equivalents,  is  not  only  to 
destroy  the  foreign  trade,  but  to  crush  the  demand 
for  manufactures,  because  the  land  had  better  have 


LABOR  REFORM. 


i87 


remained  untouched,  than  to  have  yielded  a  stock  of 
produce,  perishable  in  its  nature,  and  useless  because 
in  excess  of  the  wants  of  the  inhabitants.  It  is  but 
a  few  years  since,  that  in  parts  of  the  western  country 
stock  were  turned  into  fields  of  standing  grain,  be¬ 
cause  the  latter  would  not  pay  the  trouble  of  harvest¬ 
ing,  while  skilled  laborers  in  England  and  France 
were  starving  to  death.  These  countries  forbade 
the  interchange  of  industrial  products  for  food,  in 
order  to  “  protect  home  industry.” 

It  is  not  the  mere  tax,  which  is  derived  from  duties 
upon  the  goods  consumed,  that  constitutes  the  great¬ 
est  burden,  but  the  obstruction  to  trade,  the  lessening 
of  the  sale  of  the  surplus  agricultural  products  of 
the  country,  which  is  the  great  grievance.  The  inter¬ 
position  of  a  parchment  wall  between  buyer  and 
seller,  when  enterprise  has  just  opened  means  of 
communication,  is  a  singular  anomaly.  England 
having  continually  legislated  for  capital,  until  labor 
was  exhausted,  has  been  compelled  to  retrace  her 
steps,  and  remove  barriers  to  trade.  In  the  United 
States,  it  is  coming  to  be  understood  that  the  multi¬ 
plication  of  means  of  transport,  at  the  expense  of 
capital,  is  an  indirect  benefit  to  capital,  through  the 
enhanced  industry  growing  out  of  the  extended  sale 
of  produce  thus  promoted,  and  the  removal  of  legal 
restraints  upon  external  intercourse  is  equivalent  to 
new  means  of  transportation.  If  capital  taxes  itself 
for  the  creation  of  new  means  of  transportation,  the 
same  policy  should  prompt  it  to  assume  taxes  for 
government  support,  and  relieve  labor  and  trade  from 
duties  altogether. 

O 


1 88 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


The  substitution  of  direct  taxes  for  the  pernicious 
duties  upon  exchangeable  products,  is  one  of  the 
most  efficient  modes  of  promoting  labor  reform,  and 
of  preserving  a  just  distribution  of  the  actual  wealth 
of  the  country  among  those  who  produce  it.  The 
whole  wealth  of  the  country  being  the  product  of 
labor,  it  is  to  the  interest  of  all  parties  that  labor 
should  be  encouraged  by  removing  every  obstacle  to 
the  realization  of  the  object  of  its  wishes.  The 
more  continuous  and  efficient  are  its  operations,  the 
greater  will  be  the  aggregate  wealth,  and  this  created 
wealth  is  that  which  should  bear  the  public  burdens. 
When,  therefore,  the  government  proceeds  upon  the 
plan  of  encouraging  the  employment  of  created 
wealth,  by  taxing  its  creators  for  its  benefit,  it  paral- 
izes  the  arm  of  labor,  diminishes  its  reward,  and 
breaks  down  the  springs  of  industry.  It  is  not 
wealth  that  requires  encouragement,  but  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  it,  as  well  as  the  enjoyment  of  it,  by  those 
who  produce  it.  The  great  majority  of  the  people 
of  this  country  being  occupiers  of  land,  their  inter¬ 
ests  require  an  adequate  market  for  what  that  land 
produces.  The  more  extensive  the  market,  the 
greater  becomes  their  profits,  and  the  more  rapid 
the  accumulation  of  surplus  moneyed  capital,  appli¬ 
cable  to  manufacturing  employments.  The  capital 
so  earned,  by  being  applied  locally  to  the  construction 
of  means  of  transportation,  and  ultimately  to  manu¬ 
facturing  purposes,  under  free  competition,  not  only 
promotes  the  general  prosperity,  but  insures  a  con¬ 
tinued  distribution  of  wealth. 

England  was  an  exporter  of  food,  down  to  the 


LABOR  REFORM. 


189 


cl^se  of  the  last  century,  and  it  was  by  this  means 
that  she  obtained  capital  to  prosecute  manufactures. 
New  England  earned  her  capital  in  free-trade  com¬ 
merce  with  the  world,  and  then  applied  it  to  manu¬ 
facturing.  The  great  West  and  South  now  require 
a  more  extensive  market  for  food,  and  this  is  to  be 
found  only  m  throwing  down  the  barriers  between 
European  demand  and  American  supply ;  in  remov¬ 
ing  altogether  the  taxes  upon  imported  goods,  and 
levying  upon  the  property  of  the  country  taxes  for 
the  support  of  its  government.  The  millions  derived, 
this  year,  by  the  federal  government  from  customs, 
have  been,  to  that  extent,  a  burden  upon  the  sale  of 
farm  produce.  Had  it  been  assessed  upon  the  sev¬ 
eral  states  as  a  direct  tax  upon  property,  the  sales  of 
raw  produce  would  have  been  promoted  to  an  extent 
that,  probably,  would  have  added  three  times  the 
amount  to  the  reward  of  labor.  The  great  reform 
which  labor  demands  is  release  from  taxes  and  from 

restrictions  upon  its  market. 

*  »  v 

A  .  >  \ 


A  CHINESE  FABLE. 


BY  AN  IOWA  ‘‘MAID.” 

V,  ^ 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A  Recent  Meeting _ A  Brother  Mildly  Dissents _ A  “Little”  Tariff 

Wanted _ A  “  Little  ”  Strangulation _ An  Iowa  “Maid”  Rises  to  explain 

.A  Practical  Example _ What  Yong- Sen  said  to  the  Mongoles _ The 

Advantageof  a  few  Obstructions _ The  Wreckers  to  be  Protected _ A  Com' 

mittee  on  Whirlpools  and  other  Obstructions. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  our  brethren  over  in  Illi¬ 
nois,  a  majority  of  the  speakers  assailed  the  system 
of  spoliation,  which  the  professional  politicians  call, 
or  miscall,  “ protection.”  One  gentleman  said: 

“  If  we  are  to  have  a  free  country,  let  us  have  free 
trade.  If  material  can  be  sent  to  foreign  countries, 
manufactured,  returned,  and  sold  cheaper  than  articles 
manufactured  at  home,  then  let  us  have  the  advan¬ 
tage  of  so  doing.  We  had  slaves  in  this  country  not 
long  since ;  they  were  set  free  :  but  we  have  slaves 
still,  in  the  persons  of  farmers,  and  they  are  white 
ones,  too.” 

One  brother  mildly  dissented.  He  avowed  that  he 
was  not  quite  so  radical  on  the  tariff  question  as 
some  of  the  Patrons.  He  would  not  do  away  with 
all  tariff.  He  thought  a  little  was  necessary  in  cer¬ 
tain  cases.  If  the  previous  speaker  had  lived  as  long 
as  some,  he  would  have  seen  the  time  when  we  need¬ 
ed  a  little  tariff.  “  Our  manufacturers,”  said  h^, 

190 


A  CHINESE  FABLE.  I9I 

“  needed  it  for  a  time  at  least,  to  enable  them  to  com¬ 
pete  with  foreign  manufacturers.”  A  third  brother 
replied : 

“  The  brother  does  not  sav  how  much  tariff  was 
needed,  or  for  how  long  a  time.  As  he  seems  to 
think  that  our  ‘infant  industries’  still  need  a  little 
fostering,  though  some  of  them  are  two  hundred  years 
old,  and  flourished  in  colonial  times,  in  spite  of  all 
the  efforts  of  the  British  government  to  crush  them 
out,  it  may  be  inferred  that  he  supposes  they  will  re¬ 
quire  fostering  for  two  hundred  years  more.  He  ne¬ 
glected  to  tell  us  what  he  considered  ‘  a  little  tariff/ 
but  as  he  seems  satisfied  with  things  as  they  are,  per¬ 
haps  he  thinks  the  present  tariff — averaging  upward 
of  forty  per  cent,  on  dutiable  goods — ‘a  little  tariff/ 
Now  every  Patron  knows  that  ‘a  little  tariff’  is  a  lit¬ 
tle  obstruction  of  commerce.  It  is  a  ‘little’  restric¬ 
tion  of  the  natural  right  of  men  to  exchange  freely 
the  products  of  their  industry  for  the  products  of 
other  men’s  industry.  It  is  a  ‘ little’ slavery,  only  a 
little  strangulation.  A  majority  of  the  brethren  think 
it  is  wrong  to  choke  a  man  that  the  process  does  n’t 
add  to  health  and  happiness ;  but  my  elderly  brother, 
who  has  lived  longer  than  some  of  the  rest  of  us,  has 
seen  the  time  when  a  little  choking  did  a  fellow  good. 
He  had  seen  the  time,  indeed,  when  it  made  a  man 
stronger  and  healthier  to  interrupt  respiration,  just  a 
‘  little ,’  you  know,  and  his  friend  was  satisfied  that 
time  had  not  yet  gone  by.  He  asked  the  prayers  of 
the  Grangers  for  his  elderly  brethren.” 

Now,  an  Iowa  “  Maid,” who  has  been  reading  Bar¬ 
on  Richofen’s  book  of  travels,  asks  permission  to 
present  a  Chinese  fable  from  that  learned  work,  for 
the  benefit  of  her  Illinois  brother:  Once  upon  a  time, 
the  farmers  living  in  the  neighborhood  of  Whang-tu- 


192 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


chu,  capital  of  the  province  of  Szr-chwam,  were  per¬ 
ishing  of  hunger.  The  food  crops  had  failed.  They 
had  an  abundance  of  silk,  opium,  sugar, kerosene,  iron, 
hemp,  coal,  salt,  and  vegetable  wax,  and  the  people 
in  the  lower  valley  of  the  Yang-tse-kiang,  had  plenty 
of  food,  for  the  season  there  had  been  good,  and  no 
potato  bugs  had  appeared.  They  would  gladly  have 
sent  their  surplus  food  up  the  river  to  Whang,  etc., 
in  exchange  for  the  articles  of  which  the  people  in 
that  part  of  the  country  had  a  superabundance.  But 
the  river,  which  was  the  only  means  of  communica¬ 
tion,  could  only  be  navigated  at  great  loss  to  life 
and  property.  It  was  impossible,  indeed,  to  send 
enough  food  up  the  river  to  relieve  the  starving  peo¬ 
ple  of  Whang,  etc.  Under  these  circumstances  a 
meeting  of  the  Grange  was  called  to  consider  what 
could  be  done  todmprove  the  navigation  of  the  river. 
Many  of  the  Patrons  thought  it  was  possible  to  over¬ 
come  the  difficulties  of  the  stream  by  ingenuity  and 
skill  For  a  time,  no  one  seemed  to  doubt  that.it 
would  be  entirely  proper,  and  in  every  way  advanta¬ 
geous,  to  remove  all  obstructions,  and  take  such 
measures  as  would  render  the  passage  of  the  rapids 
entirely  safe.  The  speakers  accordingly  confined 
themselves  to  a  consideration  of  ways  and  means, 
until,  at  length,  one  patriarchal  Granger,  much  older 
and  cooler  than  the  rest,  Yong-sen  by  name,  arose 
and  said : 

“You  are  all  young  men,  except  those  who  are 
‘  Matrons'  and  ‘  Maids.’  If  you  were  as  old  as  I  am, 
you  would  see  the  necessity  of  having  some  of  the 
obstructions  in  the  river.  A  thousand  years  ago, 


A  CHINESE  FABLE. 


193 


when  I  was  young,  they  were  all  necessary  to  compel 
us  to  develop  our  own  industries,  and  create  for  our¬ 
selves  a  home  market,  and  exclude  a  deluge  of  cheap 
food — the  products  of  pauper  labor  down  the  river. 
I  grant  that  this  necessity  is  less  now  than  formerly. 
Some  of  our  industries  have  been  so  far  developed, 
and  placed  on  so  solid  a  foundation  (thanks  to  the 
rocks,  gorges,  and  whirlpools  of  the  river)  that  we 
are  reduced  to  a  starving  condition  every  few  years. 
It  is  safe,  therefore,  to  remove  some  of  the  sunken 
rocks  and  to  place  engines  at  some  of  the  dangerous 
points,  in  order  to  draw  the  boats  in  safety  up  the 
stream.  But  some  of  the  obstructions  must  be  left. 
A  little  obstruction  will  be  found  very  useful.  It  was 
necessary,  formerly,  that  three  boats  out  of  every  ten 
should  be  lost  in  order  to  compel  us  to  develop  our 
own  industries.  It  was  necessary  that  thirty  per 
cent,  of  our  products,  sent  down  the  river,  should  be 
lost,  in  order  to  make  the  return  cargoes  thirty  per 
cent,  less,  and  it  was  necessary  that  thirty  per  cent, 
of  the  return  cargoes  should  be  lost,  in  order  that 
our  home  farmers  might  enjoy  protection  equal  to 
forty-eight  per  cent,  against  the  rapacious  pauper 
laborers  down  about  the  Hachow.  It  will  do  at  this 
time,  perhaps,  if  only  two  boats  are  lost,  out  of  ten. 
This  will  insure  us  a  loss  of  twenty  per  cent,  of 
our  shipment,  and  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  return  car¬ 
goes,  a  total  loss  equal  to  thirty-six  per  cent,  on  our 
total  shipments.  But  be  careful  and  don’t  remove 
all  the  obstructions.  You  must  have  a  little  protec¬ 
tion,  or  you  will  be  deluged  with  cheap  products,  and 
your  industries  will  be  ruined. 


194  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

Nor  must  the  “Wreckers”  be  forgotten.  It  will 
never  do,  my  sun-burnt  friends,  to  take  bread 
out  of  the  wreckers’  mouths.  Remove  one-third  of 
the  difficulties  of  navigation,  but  leave  the  other  two- 
thirds  for  their  benefit.  Otherwise,  they  will  come 
up  here  and  go  to  farming,  and  take  the  bread  out  of 
our  mouths  by  competition.  Or,  if  you  choose,  re¬ 
move  all  the  obstructions,  and  give  two  cargoes  out 
of  every  ten  to  the  wreckers,  to  encourage  their  in¬ 
dustry,  and  prevent  them  from  ruining  us  by  compe¬ 
tition.  No  one  will  object  to  that.  The  number  of 
cargoes  will,  no  doubt,  be  much  greater,  when  only 
two  out  of  ten  are  sacrificed,  so  that  the  wreckers 
will  be  as  well  off  as  before.  Let  us,  then,  clear  out 
the  river,  and  pass  a  law  giving  the  wreckers  two 
cargoes  in  ten,  and  we  will  name  the  law  a  “  Protec¬ 
tive  Tariff  Act.” 

The  Yellow  Grangers  were  much  impressed  with 
Yong-sen’s  profound  wisdom,  but  it  occurred  to  them 
that  if  protection  was  such  a  good  thing,  they  could 
not  possibly  have  too  much  of  it,  so  they  decided 
unanimously  not  to  improve  the  river  at  all.  A  com¬ 
mittee  was  appointed,  however,  with  instructions  to 
establish  new  whirlpools  and  other  obstructions  of  a 
later  patent.  When  the  yeas  and  nays  were  called 
on  this  question,  the  venerable  Yong-sen  retired  con¬ 
tented.  The  Yangt-tse  river  is  as  dangerous  to-day 
as  ever,  and  as  highly  protective  a  stream  as  it  was 
in  the  days  of  Confucius. 


CONCERNING  "RIGHTS.” 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

'Hie  Age  of  the  Farmer’s  Movement - Equality  in  the  Eye  of  the  Law - 

The  Many  Against  the  Few _ A  Significant  Movement  Against  Self - The 

first  Democracy Prejudice  versus  Reason The  Divine  Right  to  Rob A 

Modern  Political  Speech  in  1520 _ The  Twins The  Blinding  Process — An 

Old  Dodge _ The  Hero  on  the  Stump - High  Tariff  and  No  Tariff - The 

College  and  the  University _ A  Mighty  Power - What  the  Farmer’s  Move- 

ment  Says. 

The  author  makes  bold  to  assure  the  farmer  that 
there  is  nothing  new  in  his  movement  at  all !  In 
looking  at  the  past,  amid  the  dissonances  of  life,  and 
the  jarring  conflicts  without  aim  and  without  effect, 
which  have  been  and  are  gone,  we  can  trace  a  prin¬ 
ciple  which,  like  a  bright  line  in  an  endless  confusion 
of  colors,  seems  to  indicate  a  purpose  among  the  suc¬ 
cessive  generations  of  mankind.  Action  was  not  al¬ 
ways  a  conflict  for  honor,  lust,  power  and  things  that 
have  passed  away.  The  Persians  crushed  the  life  out 
of  myriads  in  order  to  eat  the  figs  of  Attica  without 
purchase,  and  failed  ;  the  Roman  trod  over  a  sub¬ 
jected  world,  to  die  by  the  hand  of  his  nearest  friend; 
the  Corsican  set  up  thrones  and  made  kings,  to  be 
tortured  to  death  by  a  jailor  ;  yet  mankind,  amid  their 
death-charges  and  retreats,  have  had  a  purpose  which 
rests.  Exertion  has  not  always  been  a  laughing-stock 
— is  not  always  to  meet  with  scorn  and  utter  derision 

195 


I96  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

from  those  who  look  to  its  cause  and  effect.  Man¬ 
kind  does  advance  ;  some  of  the  van-guard  of  the 
grand  advancing  army  think  that  they  see  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  end. 

The  conflict  which  was  commenced  three  thousand 
years  ago,  and  is  still  going  on,  evidences  permanence 
and  abiding  intent  among  the  momentary  purposes 
about  which  mankind  clash.  A  contest  in  which  man¬ 
kind  have  met  with  varied  success  ;  now  driven  from 
the  field;  now  advancing,  it  may  be,  with  the  stealthy 
tread  of  muffled  feet  ;  and  now,  with  feet  shod  with 
iron,  with  the  clash  of  steel,  the  neighing  of  steeds 
and  the  cry  of  victory — have  rushed  over  all  obsta¬ 
cles.  Again,  with  serried  ranks,  with  the  calmness  of 
power,  have  they  slowly  moved  on  over  the  bodies  of 
their  fellows,  towards  the  accomplishment  of  their 
purpose — the  purpose  of  to-day — •“  Equality  in  the 
eye  of  the  law,  to  all  who  live  under  the  law/’  When 
once  attained,  mankind  will  have  arrived  as  near  per¬ 
fection  ^s  it  is  possible,  while  earth  and  its  laws  re¬ 
main  as  they  are.  Yet  they  are  successful  in  the 
main,  as  every  successive  epoch  shows  them  further 
advanced  towards  their  great  end. 

This  conflict  is  the  warfare  of  mankind  advancing 
towards  perfection,  against  men  striving  to  degrade 
them.  It  is  the  general  mass — the  democracy,  striv¬ 
ing  to  be  enlightened — against  the  few  who  com¬ 
pose  the  aristocracy,  somewhat  enlightened,  striving 
to  keep  them  in  ignorance,  to  use  them.  It  is  the  in¬ 
habitants  of  the  earth  claiming-  their  high  estate, 
against  the  few  who  would  cheat  them  out  of  their 

D 

birth-right  It  is  the  cry  of  the  nations  of  the  earth, 


CONCERNING  RIGHTS. 


197 


affirming,  “We  are  men,  created  in  the  image  of  our 
Maker  ” — against  princes,  potentates  and  powers,  say¬ 
ing,  “Ye  are  brutes  without  minds;  dig  ye  for  us, 
while  we  think  for  you.  Ask  us  not  to  avow  our 
principles  to  you  who  understand  them  not — work 
and  submit :  we  think  and  direct.”  It  is  the  outward 
movement  of  the  human  race,  in  accordance  with  their 
destiny,  against  the  resisting  spirit  of  Self,  which  would 
put  down  all  else,  in  order  to  remain  superior.  This 
warfare  is  greater  than  life’s  warfare — it  is  time’s  war¬ 
fare. 

Reason  has  been  and  is  now  carrying  on  an  offen¬ 
sive  warfare  against  the  prejudices  of  men,  which 
contract  their  judgments  to  look  only  upon  objects  in 
their  influence  upon  self,  and  striving  to  substitute, 
for  those  prejudices  principles  whose  influence  would 
be  as  boundless  as  eternity.  It  is  striking  directly  at 
self,  and  the  prejudices  of  self;  the  prejudice  of 
wealth  pluming  itself  upon  its  high  feeding  and  fan¬ 
tastic  posturing.  This  warfare  is  going  on  in  all 
parts  of  the  world,  at  this  moment  In  many  coun¬ 
tries,  it  is  true,  there  are  only  scouts  thrown  out  from 
the  grand  advancing  army :  in  others,  they  are  ad¬ 
vancing  with  the  mighty  rush  of  ocean  power. 

We  trace  the  Democratic  principle,  developed  in 
the  first  government  of  the  Jews,  when  the  command 
to  the  children  of  Israel  was,  “take  you  wise  men, 
and  of  understanding,  and  known  among  your  tribes, 
and  I  will  make  them  rulers  over  you.”  The  choice 
of  these  rulers  was  left  to  the  people,  and  so  it  re¬ 
mained  until,  in  their  folly,  they  asked  for  a  king. 
They  would  not  believe  the  prophet  when  he  said, 


I98  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

“He  will'  take  your  sons,  and  he  will  take  your 
daughters,  and  he  will  take  your  fields  and  vineyards, 
and  he  will  take  a  tenth  of  your  seed,  and  your  man- 
servants,  and  the  goodliest  of  your  young  men,  and 
ye  shall  cry  out  in  that  day,  because  of  your  king.” 
They  would  have  a  splendid  government,  splendid  in 
pomp  and  power,  in  sin  and  misery,  in  guilt  and  crime. 

The  government  of  the  Cretans,  which  was  the 
first  Democracy  of  which  we  read  in  profane  history, 
existed  over  nine  hundred  years,  longer  than  any 
dynasty.  The  laws  established  by  Minos,  all  of  which 
favored  equality,  and  encouraged  simplicity,  appealed 
to  reason  and  not  to  prejudice.  Well  might  the  im¬ 
aginative  poetry  of  that  age  represent  the  just  law¬ 
giver  as  the  judge  of  the  souls  of  the  departed.  We 
can  trace  many  marked  instances  of  the  conflict  of 
self-government  with  self-abandonment,  on  classic 
soil,  where  cultivation  was  in  its  highest  state,  almost 
before  civilization  had  commenced.  In  the  time 
when  they  made  orators  instead  of  rhetoricians, 
sculptors  instead  of  connoiseurs,  creators  instead  of 
critics,  we  see  the  first  evidences  of  the  successful 
onslaught  of  reason  against  prejudice,  assumption, 
and  oppression.  Here  we  see  the  party  lines  drawn; 
we  see  distinctly  the  two  great  parties  which  now 
stand  opposed  to  each  other,  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
— the  appellants  to  reason  and  the  appellants  to  pre¬ 
dice.  Those  who  seek  the  benefit  of  mankind 
appealing  to  their  diviner  part — their  reason — and 
those  who  seek  to  benefit  self  appealing,  as  ever,  to 
their  prejudices  and  passions.  One  party  seeking  to 
open  the  eyes  of  their  fellows ;  the  other  trying  to 


PH”'' 


CONCERNING  RIGHTS.  1 99 

get  on  their  blind  side,  that  they  may  lead  them 
astray. 

In  Athens,  where  they  pretended  to  choose  the 
wise  and  understanding  among  them,  and  not  the 
well-born  and  the  rich,  we  see  reason  and  prejudice 
appealing  to  the  fierce  democracy,  and  alternately 
bearing  sway.  Reason  spoke,  as  it  must  always  speak 
to  man,  in  the  language  of  rebuke  :  prejudice  per¬ 
suaded  to  pleasure  and  ease.  The  people  of  Rome 
contended  against  the  tariff  laid  upon  corn  and  salt, 
three  thousand  years  ago,  and  by  their  repeated  “ag¬ 
itations”  caused  the  repeal  of  the  law  laying  that 
tax.  As  we  come  down  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
we  find  the  priests  of  superstition  arrayed  against  the 
prophets  of  truth.  The  imagination  of  the  poet  be¬ 
comes  the  religion  of  the  enthusiast.  Usurpation 
founds  itself  upon  Divinity,  the  divine  right  of  kings 
is  promulgated,  and  the  robber  described  by  Samuel 
claims  the  right  to  rob  by  divine  authority.  Again 
the  appellants  to  prejudice  conquer.  The  exertion  of 
reason  is  an  effort,  prejudice  is  a  downward  impulse  ; 
submission  is  easy,  and  resistance  difficult ;  the  fruits 
of  our  labor  are  taken  from  us,  but  the  eye  is  pleased, 
and  the  ear  charmed.  We  suffer,  but  the  splendor 
of  our  court  surpasses  all  others. 

In  1520,  Erasmus  absolutely  advocated  an  election 
of  rulers  upon  the  maxim,  frons  occipitio  prior ,  mean¬ 
ing  that  every  man  should  do  his  own  business.  Read 
what  he  says,  and  you  will  think  that  Erasmus  had 
lived  in  the  present  day,  and  had  been  writing  an  ar¬ 
ticle  during  a  recent  presidential  campaign.  He-  says : 


13 


'  200 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


“  We  trust  the  rudder  of  a  vessel,  where  a  few  sail¬ 
ors  and  some  goods  alone  are  in  jeopardy,  to  none 
but  skillful  pilots,  but  the  state,  wherein  the  safety  of 
so  many  thousands  is  concerned,  we  put  into  any 
hands.  A  charioteer  must  learn,  reflect  upon,  and 
practice  his  art:  an  official  need  only  be  born.  Yet 
government,  as  it  is  the  most  honorable,  so  it  is  the 
most  difficult  of  all  sciences ;  and  shall  we  choose  the 
master  of  a  ship,  and  not  choose  him  who  is  to  have 
the  care  of  many  cities?  It  is  the  aim  of  the  guar¬ 
dian  of  a  prince,  that  he  may  never  become  a  man. 
The  nobility,  who  fatten  upon  calamity,  endeavor  to 
plunge  him  into  pleasures,  that  they  may  be  profited 
thereby.  Cities  are  burned,  the  people  are  plundered, 
innocent  citizens  are  slaughtered,  and  the  handful  of 
untamed  savages  hold  our  whole  army  at  bay,  while 
his  royal  highness  is  playing  at  dice,  sending  toy 
boats  to  sea,  or  amusing  himself  with  puppets,  (trans¬ 
lated  fiupfiies)h.unt\ng  or  drinking.  Oh,  race  of  the 
Bruti,  long  since  extinct!  We  know,  indeed,  that 
these  corrupt  rulers  shall  render  an  account  to  heav¬ 
en,  but  not  to  us.” 

Commerce  and  liberty  have  ever  been  twins.  With¬ 
out  the  one,  the  other  is  not.  Free  trade  and  free 
religion  constitute  the  very  essence  of  freedom. 
Wherever  commerce  has  prospered,  liberty  has  grown 
with  her.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose,  as  many  in  this 
country  seem  to  think,  that  agriculture  is  a  better 
handmaid  to  liberty  than  commerce.  Athens  fur¬ 
nished  the  despot  of  the  East  with  luxuries  which  he 
sought  to  have  without  purchase.  Commerce  caused 
Carthage  to  become  a  Republic — caused  the  home  of 
the  African  to  become  the  abode  of  wealth,  and  the 
mother  of  colonies.  Geneva,  Venice,  and  the  free 


CONCERNING  RIGHTS. 


201 


cities  of  Italy  furnished  the  world  with  whatever  their 
advance  in  civilization  demanded.  Switzerland,  by 
her  commerce  and  machinery,  made  her  rough 
mountains  the  seat  of  wealth,  and  caused  the  igno¬ 
rance  and  passion  of  other  countries  to  minister  to 
her  advancement.  From  the  promulgation  of  Mag¬ 
na  Charta,  commerce  marked  England  as  her  own, 
and  became  a  joyful  co-worker  in  the  cause  of  liber¬ 
ty.  Ship-money,  the  monopolies  of  wine,  wool,  etc., 
cost  one  king  of  England  his  throne,  and  another  his 
life.  In  a  rough,  summary  way,  her  citizens  freed 
themselves  from  the  bloated  selfishness  of  the  few. 
Fettering  commerce,  stamp  acts,  taxes  on  tea,  and 
other  means  of  ‘  protection/  which  sovereigns  show 
their  subjects,  caused  a  republic  to  spring  from  the 
forests  of  the  New  World,  as  the  warrior  goddess  of 
old  sprang  armed  from  the  earth,  whose  duty  was  to 
contend  with  crowns  and  dynasties,  and  whose  shadow 
looms  large  over  the  earth,  throwing  gloom  over 
crumbling  thrones,  and  in  the  evening  of  their  day 
pointing  to  the  sun-rising  of  a  glorious  to-morrow. 
This  republic,  in  her  infancy,  contended  with  two  of 
the  proudest  nations  on  earth,  because  they  obstruct¬ 
ed  her  commerce  and  impressed  her  seamen.  In  her 
infancy  she  taught  men  who  also  claimed  a  divine  right 
to  rob,  that  she  did  not  understand  Christian  or  Ma- 
hommedan  religion  that  way. 

We  see  additional  instances  of  princely  skill  and 
priestly  craft  in  the  olden  republics.  Whenever  the 
people  were  aroused  to  a  consideration  of  their 
rights,  and  appeared  determined  to  enforce  them 
against  the  few,  for  whose  benefit  alone  laws  were 

O  ' 


202 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


passed,  the  blinding  process  was  resorted  to,  even  as 
it  is  practiced  in  these  modern  times.  The  orators 
of  prejudice  no  longer  resorted  to  sophistry  to  sus¬ 
tain  the  selfish  measures  they  were  advocating,  but 
waiving  the  consideration  of  measures,  they  brought 
forward  a  man  to  dazzle  the  eyes  of  the  people.  The 
tyranny  of  the  few  was  unseen,  when  an  old  hero, 
covered  with  wounds,  was  placed  before  it.  In  the 
contests  for  power  in  those  republics,  as  in  a  later 
republic,  the  few  elevated,  as  the  ensign  around  which 
to  gather  their  forces,  a  splendid  sarcophagus,  em¬ 
bellished  with  beautiful  colors,  and  decorated  with 
superb  carvings,  emblematical,  as  they  said,  of  the 
past ;  the  buried  glories  of  a  war  which  they  would 
resurrect,  and  use  as  a  menace  to  the  conquered,  for 
all  time.  Upon  that  sarcophagus  they  had  painted, 
with  Tyrian  dyes  and  Egyptian  cunning,  every  detail 
in  the  life  of  the  old  hero,  whom  they  had  selected 
from  his  available  laurels  as  sufficiently  powerful  to 
gain  a  victory  over  principle — as  sufficiently  distin¬ 
guished  to  cause  the  people,  in  their  admiration  of 
him,  to  forget  themselves.  Around  the  top  of  this 
emblem  they  had  inscribed  the  mottoes  : — “  The  past, 
the  glorious  past “  Honor  to  the  brave  “  Reward 
to  the  chieftain,”  etc.,  and  over  it  they  waved  banners 
rent  in  battle.  This  emblem  was  all-powerful  with  a 
generous  people.  Power  and  supremacy  were  given 
to  the  nominee  of  the  few.  But  when  he  was  once 
placed  in  the  seat  of  power,  a  change  came  over  the 
spirit  of  their  dream.  This  splendid  sarcophagus 
was  opened,  and  there  stood,  exposed  to  the  view  of 
the  people,  the  dry  bones  and  mummy  of  exclusive 


CONCERNING  RIGHTS. 


203 


laws  ;  nepotism,  corruption,  monopoly  and  the  tyran¬ 
ny  of  the  few.  They  breathed  the  breath  of  life  into 
those  dry  bones,  and  sent  it  stalking  through  the  land, 
withering  everything  with  which  it  came  in  contact. 
Have  we  ever  witnessed  such  an  emblem  in  this 
country  ? 

The  time  shall  come  when  political  equality  shall 
prevail  among  all,  whatever  the  private  characteristics 
of  each  individual  may  be;  when  they  shall  build 
houses  and  inhabit  them  ;  when  they  shall  not  build 
and  another  inhabit ;  when  they  shall  not  plant  and 
another  eat.  Before  this  time  shall  come,  there  must 
be  the  battle  of  the  warrior.  In  this  country,  we 
trust  there  are  no  more  bloody  scenes  to  pass  through, 
but  there  is  much  to  be  accomplished  by  the  silent 
power  of  the  ballot-box.  Progress  is  a  cardinal  prin¬ 
ciple  with  the  democracy  of  the  people,  and  will  be 
until  the  time  shall  come  when  the  great  body  of  the 
people  shall  no  longer  be  taxed  to  benefit  the  few ; 
when  the  substance  of  the  many,  that  should  go  to 
the  support  of  their  families,  and  the  education  of 
their  children,  shall  no  longer  be  wrenched  from 
them,  to  swell  the  countless  millions  in  the  coffers  of 
manufacturers  and  the  protected  lords  of  capital ; 
until  unjust  laws  shall  be  stricken  from  our  statute 
books ;  until  this  system  of  legislating  for  classes, 
of  legislating  for  the  few  at  the  expense  of  the  many, 
is  entirely  abolished  ;  until  the  principle  that  the 
earth  is  made  for  all  is  recognized  as  a  rule  of  action. 

High  tariff  will  be  superceded  by  low  tariff;  low 
tariff  will  be  swept  away  before  the  cry  of  “  no  tariff,” 
and  the  heart  of  the  million  will  rejoice,  that  com- 


204 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


merce  shall  be  as  free  as  thought.  Banks  and  other 
engines  of  bloated  and  fictitious  wealth — banks,  the 
very  embodiment  of  unnatural  inequality  legalized, 
shall  be  trodden  under  foot  by  the  democracy  of  the 
people :  the  very  word  “  monopoly  ”  shall  be  ior- 
gotten.  What  God  hath  made  free,  man  shall  not 
bind.  Free!  free!  free!  all  entitled  to  the  same 
privileges — all  subject  to  the  same  restraint.  Col¬ 
leges  and  universities,  the  standing  pools  of  learning, 
mere  store-houses  of  old  armor,  out  of  use  and  out 
of  date,  will  be  superseded  by  universities  of  the 
people,  wherein  the  youth  shall  be  taught  that  which 
the  man  is  to  practice.  The  self-judging,  the  self- 
willing,  the  self-ruling  process  will  take  the  place  of 
blind  obedience  and  honored  custom,  which  receives, 
as  law  and  gospel,  the  reveries  of  blinded,  hallucin¬ 
ated  pedants,  who  never  acted,  but  were  always  acted 
upon.  The  reputation  and  fame  that  these  institu¬ 
tions  give  their  honors  and  degrees,  will  wither  and 
shrivel  in  the  fervid  heat  of  truths  mightier  than  any 
they  hand  down,  like  their  own  parchments  before  a 
consuming  fire.  Value  should  be  placed  on  knowl¬ 
edge  that  is  received,  not  invented,  existing  in  the 
mind,  not  reasoned  in  it.  The  truth  shall  be  recog¬ 
nized  that  he  who  is  akin  to  the  Almighty  is  equal 
with  every  created  thing.  No  robbery  shall  be  al¬ 
lowed  ;  no  forgery  of  God  Almighty's  laws ;  no  false 
pretences  that  he  who  laid  in  the  manger  gave  you 
any  divine  rights;  any  right  to  the  labor  of  the  poor; 
♦  any  right  to  tax  others  for  your  benefit;  any  right, 
by  fiction  and  law,  to  increase  your  wealth  four-fold 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Laws  shall  be  passed  for 


CONCERNING  RIGHTS. 


205 


the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number.  Enough 
air  to  breathe,  enough  water  to  drink,  enough  land 
to  cultivate,  are  the  natter al  rights  of  every  man. 
H  is  homestead,  and  enough  land  with  it  to  support 
his  family,  shall  not  be  subject  to  execution.  By 
superior  education,  intelligence,  industry,  by  cunning, 
by  taking  advantage  of  your  careless  adversary,  you 
may  seize  upon  the  products  of  hi»s  labors,  but  an 
edict  shall  be  promulgated,  Thus  far  shall  ye  go,  and 
no  farther.  Aye,  extortioner,  “  thus  far  shall  ye  go” 
is  what  the  many  says  to  the  few,  through  the  anti- 
monopoly  movement  of  to-day.  The  power  of  the 
people  is  making  itself  felt.  That  mighty  power, 
which,  like  a  giant  ignorant  of  its  own  strength,  has 
suffered  itself  for  ages  to  be  fettered  with  withes  of 
straw,  and,  bound  and  working  in  those  withes,  has 
seen,  with  an  air  of  stupid  wonder,  its  sweat  caught 
as  it  dropped  and  hardened  into  diamonds,  to  shine 
upon  the  person  of  ignorance,  conceit,  and  pride. 
Bearing  all,  it  muttered  at  the  hard  hand  of  Provi¬ 
dence,  as  though  Providence  had  not  left  them  to  right 
themselves — as  though  Providence  had  not  given 
them  a  right  to  her  last  boon,  the  sweat  of  the  brow 
and  the  products  thereof. 

This  mighty  power,  which,  like  the  waters  of  the 
great  deep,  has  only  to  be  put  in  motion  to  swallow 
up  all  that  rides  upon  it,  has  throughout  Christendom 
been  troubled  from  its  depths.  Ominous  sounds 
have  been  heard  and  feared.  Barriers  have  been 
raised  against  the  tide,  only  t<p  cause  its  waters  to 
rise  higher;  when  barriers  are  broken — when  the 
power  of  the  people  is  felt  in  the  first  ecstacy  of 


206 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


their  acquired  strength,  and  with  the  mighty  mo¬ 
mentum  of  long  years  of  wrong,  they  sweep  away 
thrones,  principalities,  and  powers ;  greatness  that 
was,  becomes  utter  littleness  before  its  might.  In¬ 
visible  powers,  which  rule  despotically  the  hearts  of 
men — the  laws  of  etiquette,  the  laws  of  honor,  the 
laws  of  property,  the  laws  of  justice,  so-called,  the 
behests  of  religion — are  snapped  asunder  by  the  secret 
laws  of  our  being,  by  the  law  of  equality  hidden  in  all 
hearts,  and  manifest  from  the  creation  through  the 
works  that  are  made.  The  air,  the  sea,  the  rain,  the 
sun,  the  wants,  the  enjoyments,  the  birth,  the  death, 
the  last  narrow  house, — ay,  by  the  deeds  that  are 
done,  and  the  thoughts  that  are  inspired, — is  the  law 
of  political  equality  manifest. 

Progress,  which  the  possessors  of  the  good  things 
of  earth  call  innovation;  progress,  the  cardinal  prin¬ 
ciple  of  this  democracy  of  the  people,  will  go  on  as 
all  history  shows.  It  must  be  through  continual  strife, 
for  progress  is  but  a  contest,  still  going  on  in  spite 
of  the  death  chants,  the  impenetrable  armor,  and  the 
resisting  spirit  of  Self.  A  contest  which  has  been 
going  on  through  earth’s  long  day,  and  will  still  go  on 
until  evening — until  the  mighty  purposes  of  creation 
are  accomplished,  and  the  many  are  entitled  to  pre¬ 
eminence  over  the  few,  in  the  view  of  the  earth,  as 
they  are  now  entitled  in  the  eye  of  heaven.  This  is 
what  the  great  democracy  of  the  people  demands ; 
this  is  what  the  Anti-Monopoly  Movement  means. 


SEEDS  FOR  EARLY  PLANTING. 


207 


SEEDS  FOR  EARLY  PLANTING. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Railroad  Appropriations _ The  Balance  of  Trade _ Land  Steals - A 

voice  from  Ohio _ The  Pig-Iron  Patriots _ Protection  on  Wheels - The 

Victims. 

Gen.  Morgan,  of  Ohio,  said  in  1870: 

“  The  president  of  a  railroad  in  the  West  told  me, 
three  years  ago,  that  he  found  charged  to  members 
of  Congress  whole  sections  of  land,  given  for  services 
in  Congress.  Sections  have  grown  into  townships 
since  that  time,  and  fully  account  for  the  immense 
fortunes  made  by  members  of  Congress  on  small  sal¬ 
aries.” 

Has  the  charge  ever  been  denied  that  Thaddeus 
Stevens  owned,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  $100,000  in 
Pacific  Railroad  bonds,  which  fact,  out  of  regard  for 
his  reputation,  was  not  made  public  by  his  executors? 

If  it  cost  $100,000  to  get  the  vote  of  Stevens 
for  the  appropriations  to  the  Pacific  Railroad,  how 
much  did  it  cost  to  get  the  votes  of  a  majority  of 
the  members  of  Congress  for  this  scheme  of  plun¬ 
dering  ? 

If  the  franchises  alone  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  were  worth  $15,000,000,  how  much  could  the 
company  on  whom  they  were  conferred  afford  to  pay 
for  them  ? 


209 


210 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


And  yet  the  professional  politicians  in  Congress 
are  patriots  and  philanthropists,  and  many  of  them 
add  piety  to  their  other  shining  qualities.  Surely, 
no  one  but  a  “  Granger”  would  ask  such  questions. 

THE  BALANCE  OF  TRADE. 

In  his  sophisms  of  protection,  the  apostle  Bastiat 
runs  a  tilt  against  prevalent  ideas  in  regard  to  the 
balance  of  trade.  He  says  : 

“  The  profits  accruing  to  a  nation  from  any  foreign 
commerce  should  be  calculated  by  the  overplus  of 
the  importation  above  the  exportation.” 

His  theory  that  a  nation  is  enriched  rather  than 
impoverished  by  having  the  balance  of  trade  against 
it  is  hardly  one  that  will  commend  itself  to  Protec¬ 
tionists,  though  they  are  now  engaged  in  supplying 
farmers  with  copious  extracts  from  Bastiats  work. 
They  have  been  busy  heretofore  in  trying  to  prove 
that  manufacturing  in  this  country  has  so  prospered 
under  the  protective  system  that  we  can  now  com¬ 
pete  with  European  manufacturers  in  many  articles 
which  were  not  made  in  this  country  a  few  years  ago. 
In  a  speech  made  in  Congress  by  member  Kelly, 
in  the  winter  of  1869,  the  gentleman  presented  a 
long  list  of  articles  which  are  manufactured  in  Eng¬ 
land,  France,  Belgium,  and  Prussia,  and  also  in  the 
United  States,  claiming  that  our  products  in  the 
articles  named  are  driving  the  others  from  the  mar¬ 
ket,  even  in  the  dibtricts  in  Europe  where  the  manu¬ 
facture  of  those  articles  had  been  carried  to  the 


SEEDS  FOR  EARLY  PLANTING.  21 1 


greatest  extent.  Whether  the  Bastiat  theory  be 
right  or  wrong,  it  does  not  affect  the  arguments  of 
Prohibitionists  concerning  the  effect  of  protection 
upon  production  and  imports. 

“  Protection  stimulates  industry,”  they  say, — fur¬ 
nishes  goods  and  wares  which  otherwise  would  be 
imported  for  home  consumption,  and,  in  many  cases, 
furnishes  articles  for  export  to  European  markets, 
thus  helping  to  prevent  “the  balance  of  trade”  from 
turning  heavily  against  us.  There  is  a  plausibility 
about  this  reasoning  which  is  well  calculated  to  de¬ 
ceive  ;  but,  unfortunately  for  the  gentlemen  who 
rely  upon  it,  a  comparison  of  the  exports  of  i860 
with  those  of  1869  show  a  great  decline  in  the  ship¬ 
ments  of  many  important  articles  of  commerce.  The 
following  carefully  prepared  table  will  explain  : 


Boots  and  shoes . 

Woolens . 

Carriages . 

Candles . . . 

Pot  and  pearl  ashes . 

Hats  and  caps . 

Manufactured  tobacco . 

Soap . 

Trunks  and  valises . 

Paints  and  varnishes . . 

Gunpowder . . 

Manufactures  of  marble  and  stone 

Manufactures  of  India-rubber _ 

Beer,  ale,  and  porter . . . 

Garden  and  other  seeds . 

Hides  and  skins . 

Living  animals . 

Manufactures  of  cottons. . 

Manufactures  of  iron _ _ 

Manufactures  of  copper  and  brass 


Exports,  Exports, 

i860.  1869. 


$  782,525 

$  356,200 

389>512 

120,013 

816,973 

298,308 

7^0,525 

324,995 

882,820 

i87,°94 

211,602 

72,740 

■  3.338,083 

2,TOI,335 

494,405 

384,95° 

37,74S 

24,800 

224,809 

9L452 

467,772 

122,562 

176,239 

65.5  ^5 

240,841 

128,216 

53,573 

9.755 

596,910 

44,l86 

1,036,000 

219,918 

1,858,091 

689,508 

10,934,000 

4,416,708 

5,514,238 

L579,676 

1,664,122 

445i637 

212 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


It  will  be  observed  that  with  the  exception  of  hides, 
skins  and  living  animals,  the  articles  named  are  all 
manufactured  articles,  and  that  our  exports  of  them, 
have  decreased,  as  custom  duties  have  been  more 
heavily  piled  on.  After  the  enactment  of  the  Morrill 
tariff  in  1861,  the  exportation  of  wheat  and  corn 
largely  increased  for  several  years,  a  fact  tending  to 
show  that  our  home  markets  for  agricultural  products 
had  not  been  enlarged  and  strengthened  by  that  tar¬ 
iff.  The  falling  off  of  exports  in  the  articles  named 
in  the  above  list,  did  not  cause  such  an  increase  of 
their  consumption,  as  to  create  a  demand  among  our 
farmers,  in  exchange  for  their  products,  which  pre¬ 
vented  the  swelling  of  our  exports  of  breadstuffs. 

It  is  absurd  to  claim  that  protection  swells  the  ag¬ 
gregate  of  our  exports.  The  system  increases  the 
cost  of  production  and  prevents  the  exchange  of  our 
products  for  those  of  other  nations.  Commissioner 
Wells  has  shown  that  the  decline  in  American  ship¬ 
ping  was  due  mainly,  not  to  the  depredations  of  reb¬ 
el  cruisers,  or  the  heavy  duties  laid  on  ship-building 
materials,  but  to  laws,  which  in  effect  prohibit  trade 
between  the  United  States  and  other  countries  with 
which  we  had  large  and  profitable  commercial  tran¬ 
sactions  a  few  years  ago.  We  cannot  expect  to  sell 
to  other  people  while  keeping  our  markets  closed  to 
them.  They  have  only  their  own  products  to  offer 
in  exchange  for  ours. 

This  “balance  of  trade”  alarm  is  in  truth  mere 
fallacy.  It  adjusts  itself  between  nations.  Each  can 
take  no  more  than  it  can  pay  for,  and  each  will  send 
no  more  than  it  receives  payment  for.  Then  there  is 


SEEDS  FOR  EARLY  PLANTING.  217, 

no  such  thing  as  “  balance  ”  between  the  amount  of  a 
nation’s  exports  and  imports,  save  the  literal  balance 
that  makes  both  equal.  Does  the  “balance”  lie,  then, 
between  the  amount  of  our  productions  and  the 
amount  of  our  consumption?  No:  the  amount  of 
these  productions,  whatever  they  may  be,  are  con¬ 
sumed  immediately  at  home,  or  mediately  through 
what  we  received  in  exchange  from  other  nations, 
and  this  is-  likewise  made  the  literal  equal  balance. 
Then  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  “  balance  of  trade.” 

“  LAND  STEALS.” 

The  Farmers’  Movement  condemns  the  party  pol¬ 
icy  of  subsidizing  private  corporations  of  speculators 
with  the  public  money  and  the  people’s  lands.  The 
enemy,  in  a  familiar  mask,  asks  the  Illinois  State 
Grange  if  Stephen  A.  Douglas  did  not  initiate  in 
Congress  the  policy  of  subsidizing  railway  corpora¬ 
tions  with  public  lands. 

The  answer  is,  he  did  not.  It  was  through  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  the  great  Illinois  statesman  that  the  policy 
was  initiated  in  Congress  of  making  grants  of  public 
lands  to  the  new  states  to  aid  their  inhabitants  in  the 
development  of  their  commercial  resources.  It  was 
a  democratic  Congress  which  granted  2,500,000  acres 
of  public  land,  not  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railway 
Company,  but  to  the  state  of  Illinois,  to  aid  that  state 
and  its  inhabitants  generally  in  the  development  of 
the  central  prairie  region  by  building  a  railway  which 
would  give  it  access  to  the  great  natural  commercial 
channels.  It  was  a  democratic  Congress  which  grant- 


214 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


ed  public  lands  to  the  State  of  Michigan,  to  the  State 
of  Missouri  and  several  other  states  for  similar  pur¬ 
poses.  Mr.  Douglas’ party  never  voted  an  acre  of  the 
public  domain  to  a  private  corporation  of  land  spec¬ 
ulators.  But  no  sooner  did  the  professional  politi¬ 
cians  come  into  power  with  an  “  organization  per¬ 
fected,”  than  they  initiated  the  villain’s  policy  of  giv¬ 
ing  away  the  people’s  estate  in  “  whole  empires  ”  to 
rings  of  speculators  and  party  favorites.  Their  first 
Congress  under  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  1862,  gave  no  less 
than  35,000,200  acres  to  a  single  combination  known 
as  the  Union  Pacific  Railway  Company.  The  whole 
state  of  Iliinois  contains  only  35,450,200  acres.  The 
professional  politicians  signalized  the  entrance  of 
their  “  perfected  organization”  into  power,  by  taking 
away  from  the  people  generally,  and  giving  to  an  or¬ 
ganized  ring  of  less  than  two  dozen  persons  the  ab¬ 
solute  proprietorship  of  a  territory  equal  to  the  great 
State  of  Illinois.  Such  was  the  initiation  of  the  pol¬ 
icy  of  subsidizing  private  rings  with  public  lands, 
which  the  professional  politicians  have  followed  up 
with  vigor,  until  the  number  and  magnitude  of  these 
gifts  of  the  people’s  lands  to  private  corporations, 
cover  a  domain  greater  than  four  and  a  half  states  of 
the  size  of  Illinois. 

The  grant  to  Illinois  of  2,500,000  acres  was  hard¬ 
ly  equal  to  4,000  acres  per  mile  of  the  Illinois  Cen¬ 
tral  Railway.  The  gift  to  the  Pacific  Railway  Compa¬ 
ny  amounts  to  nearly  18,000  acres  per  mile,  and  the 
first  gift  to  that  unmitigated  organization  of  New 
England  land-thieves,  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway 
Company,  amounts  to  more  than  25,000  acres  per 


SEEDS  FOR  EARLY  PLANTING.  2I5 

mile,  while  the  second  gift  to  the  same  band  of  land 
speculators  amounts  perhaps  to  as  much  more. 
What  consideration  do  the  people  of  the  United 
States  receive,  or  what  consideration  will  the  inhab¬ 
itants  of  any  new  state  at  the  West  ever  receive,  for 
the  imperial  grants  of  the  public  domain  that  have 
been  made  by  professional  politicians  and  their  “  per¬ 
fected  organizations”  to  rings  of  speculators?  Not 
one  dollar  of  public  revenue;  not  one  penny  of  ben¬ 
efit  in  any  shape  but  that  which  is  incidental  to  every 
other  railway,  as  well  as  those  owned  by  the  rings  of 
speculators,  bands  of  land-stealers,  and  which  have 
been  brought  into  existence,  nursed  and  loaded 
down  with  stolen  wealth  by  professional  politicians 
and  their  “  perfected  organizations.” 

The  author  need  not  pause  to  give  the  names  by 
which  these  “  perfected  organizations  ” — if  forsooth 
there  should  be  more  than  one — have  been  desig¬ 
nated  from  time  to  time.  It  is  enough  for  the  farmer 
to  know  that  he  has  been  robbed,  and  that  he  has  the 
thief  within  the  reach  of  legal  process.  He  does  not 
have  to  search  the  rogue’s  calendar  to  ascertain  the 
various  aliases  of  the  accused.  t 

A  SMALL  VOICE  FROM  OHIO. 

The  enemy  continues  to  manifest  a  decided  interest 
in  the  Farmer’s  Movement.  His  agents,  the  profes¬ 
sional  politicians,  are  still  industrious  in  the  distribu¬ 
tion  of  printed  matter  among  the  working  classes. 
This  is  composed  in  nearly  every  instance  of  distort¬ 
ed  facts  and  bad  logic  deduced  from  false  premises. 
Their  best  hold  seems  to  be  an  attempted  defense  of 

14 


2  l6 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


the  protective  policy  by  an  Ohio  Congressman. 
This  gentleman  presumes  to  state  facts,  but  his  igno¬ 
rance  is  proven  by  his  erroneous  statement  that  Great 
Britain  still  maintains  protective  duties  upon  manu¬ 
factures  to  the  extent  of  ten  per  cent,  an  allegation 
which  has  not  a  particle  of  foundation  in  fact.  These 
are  the  gentlemans  words  : 

“  England  retains  such  protective  duties  as,  when 
retained,  were  deemed  by  her  adequate  for  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  her  industries,  they  being  ten  per  cent,  upon 
all  wrought  manufactures  of  all  the  metals,  articles 
of  cotton,  wool,  etc.” 

The  customs  revenue  of  Great  Britain  is  collected 
from  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  liquors,  tobacco  and  fruits ; 
and  the  same  rate  per  capita  which  is  paid  there,  on 
those  articles,  if  imposed  upon  the  population  of 
this  country,  would  yield  all  the  customs  revenue  we 
require. 

It  only  need  be  said  in  reply  to  such  an  inductive 
philosopher  as  the  Ohio  Congressman,  that  the  agita¬ 
tion  for  free  trade  substantially  began  in  Great  Brit¬ 
ain,  in  1824;  that  the  first  tangible  step  was  made  in 
1840,  when  the  protective  system  culminated,  when 
the  fearful  condition  of  the  country  forced  action. 

At  this  time,  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer  was  de- 

/ 

picted  as  being  “  Seated  on  an  empty  chest  over  the 
pool  of  a  bottomless  deficiency,  fishing  for  a  budget” 
He  should  know  that  free  trade  was  substantially  ac¬ 
complished  by  several  acts  passed  between  1840  and 
i860,  and  that  the  very  last  vestige  of  Protection  dis¬ 
appeared  not  long  since,  with  the  abatement  of  a 
registry  duty  of  a  shilling  a  quarter  on  corn. 


SEEDS  FOR  EARLY  PLANTING. 


2I7 


When  the  Hon.  What’s-his-Name,  of  Ohio,  informs 
himself  upon  facts,  he  will  be  entitled  to  present  con¬ 
clusions. 

He  must  first  read  the  history  of  the  Dutch  Re¬ 
public,  and  learn  how  Free  Trade  built  up  a  nation 
of  whom  it  was  said  that,  “producing  not  a  grain  of 
wheat,  they  lived  on  the  whitest  bread  in  Europe/' 
He  must  learn  how  the  Navigation  Acts  of  Great 
Britain,  passed  in  the  time  of  Cromwell  to  spite  the 
Dutch  Republic,  almost  ruined  the  shipping  interest 
of  England,  and  threw  the  carrying  trade  of  the 
world  into  the  hands  of  the  Dutch. 

He  must  know  the  history  of  Venice  and  of  the 
states  of  Italy,  prosperous  and  rich  so  long  as  trade 
was  free,  but  whose  decadence  dates  from  the  adop¬ 
tion  of  Protection. 

He  must  study  the  fiscal  system  of  prosperous  Bel¬ 
gium,  now  nearer  the  point  of  abolishing  custom¬ 
houses  than  any  other  nation.  He  must  know  of 
Switzerland,  that  except  for  Free  Trade  her  people 
might  starve. 

He  must  study  the  vast  strides  which  Germany 
has  made  in  wealth  and  power  since  the  custom-house 
lines  between  the  states  were  removed  by  the  Zoll- 
verein  treaty. 

And,  last  of  all,  he  must  consider  the  continental 
system  of  free  trade  under  which  these  United  States 
have  prospered,  although  there  are  as  great  diversi¬ 
ties  among  the  States  in  soil,  climate  and  productive 
capacity  as  exists  among  any  nations  of  the  world, 
and  also  greater  diversity  in  regard  to  the  burden  of 
local  debts  and  the  mode  of  raising  revenue  for  lo¬ 
cal  purposes. 


2l8 


4 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


THE  PIG-IRON  PATRIOTS. 


When  the  object  of  a  tariff  policy  is  not  obtained 
through  it,  that  policy  must  be  wrong.  One  of  the 
avowed  objects  of  the  present  high  duty  on  pig-iron, 
and  of  similarly  high  duties  on  other  kinds  of  iron! 
is  to  avert  the  competition  of  foreign  iron.  To  show 
how  adequate  are  the  rates  of  duty,  the  following 
table  is  given  of  ad  valorem  taxes  now  levied  on  the 
different  kinds  of  iron,  under  the  tariff,  and  actually 
collected  in  1870-1  : 


Pig-iron . 

Bar-iron,  common  size _ 

Extra  sizes . 

Sheet-iron — No.  20 . . 

Sheet-iron — No.  25: . 

Band  and  hoop  iron _ 

Thinner  than  No.  20  ditto 

Slit  rods . . 

Mill  irons . . 

Cables  and  chains . . 

Railroad  iron . . 


51  per  cent. 
5'Vs  “ 

65  A  “ 

563/8  “ 

61  1-5  “ 

62  ^2  u 

7m 

6 45A  “ 

128^ 

75  3^  “ 

46 


Additional  “protection  ”  is  granted  the  Pennsylva¬ 
nia  monopolist,  in  the  fact  that  none  of  this  iron  can 
be  laid  down  in  New  York  for  less  than  twenty  per 
cent  on  its  cost,  on  account  of  freight  and  charo-es. 
Under  this  enormous  “  protection,”  the  Granger  will 
scarcely  believe  that,  year  after  year,  the  importation 
of  iron  increases,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  table : 


1868. 

Pig-iron,  imports,  value . $1,778,977 

Railroad  iron,  do . 4,373,662 

Bar,  rod,  sheet  and  hoop  iron  4,893,787 


1869.  1870. 

$2,138,030  $2,509,280 
7,305,845  9,669,571 

4,945,910  4,977,336 


1871. 

$3,106,490 

17,560,297 

5,206,720 


Now  every  fair-minded  man,  at  all  conversant  with 


SEEDS  FOR  EARLY  PLANTING.  2Ig 

the  principles  of  trade,  will  admit  the  fact,  that  if  we 
import  $17,000,000  worth  of  rails,  at  a  duty  of  46 
per  cent.,  it  must  necessarily  follow  that  the  $30,000,- 
000  worth  of  home-made  rails  are,  by  the  duty,  ren¬ 
dered  as  dear  as  the  foreign  rails ;  and  so  with  all 
other  articles  of  iron. 

Now,  let  us  ask  the  pig-iron  patriots  whether  the 
above  table  does  not  show  them  to  be  powerless  to 
protect  the  American  laborer  from  the  competition 
of  the  “  pauper  labor  of  Europe,”  to  borrow  their 
own  clap-trap  phrase  ?  We  ask,  too,  if  the  consum¬ 
ers  do  not  pay  from  fifty  to  sixty  millions  of  dollars 
annually,  over  and  above  its  real  value,  for  all  the 
iron  they  use  ? 

Protection  never  put  an  additional  dollar  into  the 
pocket  of  the  working  man,  whom  it  claims  to  bene¬ 
fit  ;  but  it  has  put  millions  into  the  purses  of  monop¬ 
olists,  which  millions  have  been  filched  from  the 
working  man  and  from  every  consumer. 

PROTECTION  ON  WHEELS. 

So  long  as  protection  rides  through  the  land  in  its 
coach  and  four,  the  working  man  who  pays  the  ex¬ 
pense  must  be  content  to  walk,  or  jolt  along  in  a 
springless  wagon.  But  a  Granger  who  has  expecta¬ 
tions,  and  a  relative  in  the  carriage  business  at  New 
*  York,  has  been  indulging  in  visions  of  a  carriage  of 
his  own,  when  all  protective  tariffs  shall  have  been 
made  to  walk.  This  over-sanguine  Granger  went  so 
far  as  to  write  his  relative — the  carriage  manufacturer 
at  New  York — as  to  the  prices  of  those  comforts. 
The  relative  replied,  complaining  of  the  depressed 


220 


4 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


state  of  the  carriage  trade,  and  gave  the  following, 
among  other  reasons,  therefor  : 

“  War  raised  the  prices  of  carriages,  like  every 
thing  else ;  and  when  it  ceased,  people  clamored  for 
a  large  reduction  of  prices.  This  was  found  to  be 
utterly  impossible,  owing  to  the  fixed  price  of  many 
materials  that  enter  largely  into  carriage  manufac¬ 
ture,  and  still  more  to  the  very  great  difficulty  of 
getting  sufficient  skilled  labor  to  meet  increased  de¬ 
mands.” 

Here  are  two  causes  for  the  distress  of  the  manu¬ 
facturer — high-priced  materials,  and  lack  of  skilled 
labor.  The  carriage  manufacturer  owes  these  two 
disadvantages  mainly  to  the  tariff.  All  the  iron,  all 
the  wood  and  varnish,  all  the  oil,  all  the  leather,  all  the 
cloth  and  plush,  and  all  the  labor  the  carriage-maker 
uses,  are  enhanced  in  price  by  a  system  which  favors 
the  few  at  the  expense  of  the  many.  The  iron 
monopoly  alone  is  a  grave  detriment.  Iron,  in  a 
country  where  it  may  be  shoveled  from  the  surface 
of  the  ground  into  the  mouth  of  the  furnace,  should 
be  cheaper  than  in  those  in  which  it  must  be  raised 
from  the  bottom  of  mines,  hundreds  of  feet  deep ; 
yet  iron  in  Glasgow  costs  fifteen  dollars  a  ton,  in 
New  York,  thirty  dollars  a  ton.  This  difference 
in  price  is  caused  by  the  duty  on  iron,  which  is  needed 
neither  for  revenue  nor  protection,  but  is  maintained 
for  monopoly. 

The  present  tariff  does  not  encourage  the  immi¬ 
gration  of  skilled  laborers  from  abroad.  The  work¬ 
ing  men  of  England,  through  one  of  their  trades 


SEEDS  FOR  EARLY  PLANTING. 


221 


associations,  recently  sent  Mr.  Robert  Connolly  to 
this  country,  to  compare  the  condition  of  American 
working  men  with  that  of  the  English.  He  returned 
and  reported  that  American  wages  were  higher  than 
English  wages,  but  that  the  latter  afforded  the  bet¬ 
ter  support.  The  American  laborer  is  taxed  on  his 
food,  fuel,  clothing,  and  shelter,  doubly ;  taxed  for 
government  and  taxed  for  monopoly.  The  British 
laborer  is  taxed  once ,  for  government.  Knowing  all 
this,  the  Granger  concludes  his  letter  to  his  relative, 
the  carriage  manufacturer  at  New  York,  as  follows: 

“Do  you  not  see  that  your  interests  are  opposed 
to  this  so-called  ‘  Protection  ?’  Were  your  materials 
free,  and  your  labor  untaxed  by  monopoly,  you  could 
produce  more,  better,  and  cheaper  work  than  you 
ever  will  under  the  present  system.  You  would  be 
benefited  by  an  increased  demand  and  multiplied 
profits ;  your  working  men  would  be  benefited  by 
more  work,  higher  wages  and  cheaper  living.  Your 
customers  would  be  benefited  by  getting  good  car¬ 
riages  cheap.  The  government  would  lose  nothing, 
for  it  has  more  revenue  than  it  needs.  Even  the 
monopolists  would  be  benefited,  for  they  would  be 
compelled  to  turn  to  honest  pursuits,  and  abandon 
their  corrupt  practices  in  the  lobbies  at  Washington.” 

THE  VICTIMS. 

A  paper  here  in  Ohio,  called  the  Toledo  Bladey 
ofters  the  following  as  a  conclusive  argument  in  favor 
of  the  system  of  tariff  spoliation : 

“  Let  us  see  what  the  products  of  a  good  farm  will 


2  22 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


yield  to  the  farmer  to-day,  compared  with  the  same 
articles  in  i860.  In  our  market,  on  the  24th  day  of 
May,  i860,  white  wheat  was  quoted  at  $1.40  ;  to-day 
it  is  worth  $1.90 — just  50  cents  per  bushel  more  than 
in  i860.  Potatoes  were  then  worth  20  cents;  now 
they  sell  readily  at  60  cents.  Barley  was  worth,  in 
i860,  68  cents  per  bushel  ;  now  it  brings  $1.05. 
Flaxseed  sold  then  at  $1.20;  to-day  its  minimum 
quotation  is  $1.70.  Clover  seed  was  quoted  then  at 
$3-75  1  to-day  it  is  worth  $4.65.  Now  let  us  take  a 
good  farm  and  see  how  much  more  its  products  are 
worth  to-day  than  they  were  in  i860.  We  will  give 
but  the  advance : 


Wheat,  300  bushels,  advance . . . $150 

Potatoes,  200  bushels,  advance .  80 

Barley,  100  bushels,  advance . . . .  37 

Flaxseed,  100  bushels,  advance. . . . .  50 

Clover  seed,  100  bushels,  advance . . .  90 


Total.. . $407 


“  Here  we  have,  then,  on  the  five  articles  men¬ 
tioned,  an  advance,  in  one  year,  in  the  value  of  what 
will  be  produced  upon  a  single  farm,  of  $407.” 

The  writer  would  have  a  “  soft  thing  ”  for  his  pet, 
if  it  were  not  for  just  one  thing.  He  fails  to  inquire 
whether  the  farmer  can  buy  any  more  with  the  pro¬ 
ceeds  of  these  five  articles  to-day  than  he  could  in 
i860.  This  is  an  important  point.  The  farmer  may 
receive  fifty  or  one  hundred  or  five  hundred  per  cent, 
more  dollars  to-day,  than  he  did  thirteen  years  ago, 
and  still  be  worse  off.  He  is  certainly  worse  off,  if 
the  dollars  he  receives  now  will  not  buy  so  much  as 
the  less  number  of  dollars  which  he  received  then. 
If  his  figures  are  correct,  the  income  from  the  five 
articles  enumerated  was  $1,023  in  i860,  and  is  $1,430 


SEEDS  FOR  EARLY  PLANTING. 


in  1873.  As  to  the  purchasing  power,  “No  Mo¬ 
nopoly,”  a  writer  in  the  New  York  World ,  shows 
that  $1,023  would  buy  more  in  i860,  than  $1,430  will 
buy  now;  thus: 

“Bar  Iron — Price  in  1873,  5  cents  per  pound; 
quantity  that  $1430  will  buy  in  1873,  28,600  pounds; 
price  in  i860,  2^  cents  per  pound;  quantity  that 
$1,023  did  buy  in  i860,  40,920  pounds.  Excess  of 
purchasing  power  in  i860  over  1873,  12,320  pounds. 

“  Coffee  (Rio  roasted) — Price  in  1873,  35  cents  per 
pound;  quantity  that  $1,430  will  buy  in  1873,  4,085 
25-36  pounds;  price  in  1860,-20  cents  per  pound ; 
quantity  that  $1,023  did  buy  in  i860,  5,115  pounds. 
Excess  of  purchasing  power  in  i860  over  1873,  1,030 
pounds. 

Blankets  (10-4) — Price  in  1873,  $6  per  pair ;  quan¬ 
tity  that  $1,430  will  buy  in  1873,  238^3  ;  price  in  i860, 
$4  per  pair;  quantity  that  $1,023  did  buy  in  i860, 
255^.  Excess  of  purchasing  power  in  i860  over 
1873,  1 7  pail's. 

“  Black  Alpaca — Price  in  1873,  5°  cents  per  yard; 
quantity  that  $1,430  will  buy  in  1873,  2,860  yards; 
price  in  i860,  30  cents  per  yard;  quantity  that  $1,023 
did  buy  in  i860,  3,410  yards.  Excess  of  purchasing 
power  in  i860  over  1873,  55°  yards. 

“Spool  Thread  (200  yards) — Price  in  i873,85cents 
per  doz.;  quantity  that  $1,430  will  buy  in  1873,  1,564 
60-85  dozen;  price  in  i860,  45  cents  per  dozen; 
quantity  that  $1,023  did  buy  in  i860,  2,273  1 5~ 45 
dozen.  Excess  of  purchasing  power  in  i860  over 
1873,  709  dozen. 

“YVoolen  Suit  of  Clothes — Price  in  1873,  $30; 
quantity  that  $1,430  will  buy  in  1873,  47^  suits; 
price  in  i860,  $18  per  suit;  quantity  that  $1,023  did 
buy  in  i860,  56  15-18  suits.  Excess  of  purchasing 
power  in  i860  over  1873,  9  suits.” 


224 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


We  may  push  the  enquiry  further  in  the  same 
direction,  and  discover  that  $1,023  went  further,  with 
respect  to  nearly  everything,  in  i860,  than  $1,430  go 
now.  If  a  given  amount  of  farm  produce  will  not 
buy  so  much  clothing  within  eighteen  per  cent,  now 
as  it  would  in  i860,  it  may  be  reasonably  inferred 
that  the  farmer  is  not  so  well  off  as  he  was  in  i860. 
And  it  may  also  be  reasonably  inferred  that  the 
reason  he  is  not  so  well  off  is  that  he  is  taxed 
for  the  benefit  of  pet  industries.  It  turns  out,  too, 
that  the  “  Home  Market,”  which  the  farmer  was  to 
have  secured  (according  to  the  protectionists)  by 
paying  tribute  to  manufacturers,  is  a  humbug  and  a 
delusion.  These  inferences  do  not  rest  solely  upon 
comparisons  of  the  prices  of  particular  articles.  The 
farmers  know  that  they  are  not  prosperous,  and  that 
is  why  they  are  being  heard  from,  and  why  they  are 
rapidly  coming  to  an  understanding  and  an  agree¬ 
ment  as  to  the  cause  of  all  the  trouble. 

“No  Monopoly”  goes  on  to  show  the  Ohio  mo¬ 
nopolist  newspaper,  that  the  proceeds  of  farm  pro¬ 
ducts  procured  more  day  labor  in  i860  than  they  do 
at  present : 

“In  1873  the  average  price  of  experienced  day 

labor  in  Ohio,  during  the  summer  months,  is  $1.93 
per  day,  without  board  ;  $1,430  would,  therefore,  pro¬ 
cure  as  near  as  possible  74  t  days’  labor. 

“In  i860  the  average  price  for  experienced  day 
labor  for  the  summer  months  in  Ohio  was  $1.16  per 
day,  without  board;  and  $1,023,  the  proceeds  of  the 
farm  product  in  i860,  would  therefore  have  produced 
as  near  as  possible  882  days’  labor,  or  141  days  more 
than  in  1873.” 


SEEDS  FOR  EARLY  PLANTING.  225 

He  leaves  us  to  infer  from  this  that,  while  farmers 
are  much  the  worse  off  for  the  tariff,  day  laborers 
are  little  if  any  the  worse,  though  it  is  clear  that 
laborers  are  not  as  well  off  as  they  would  be  under 
free  trade.  Day  laborers  must  earn  enough  to  sup¬ 
port  life  ;  and  besides,  it  is  easier  for  them  to  act  in 
concert  to  secure  an  advance  of  wages,  than  it  is  for 
farmers  to  unite  to  secure  an  advance  of  prices. 
Hence,  the  latter  must  suffer  more  from  tariff  spolia¬ 
tion  than  the  former.  The  farmers  are  indeed  the 
oppressed  class.  They  are  compelled  to  pay  the 
high  prices  of  protected  articles,  and  to  advance  the 
wages  of  their  hands  nearly  in  proportion  to  the 
general  increase  of  prices.  They  are  rigorously  sub¬ 
jected  to  the  law  of  competition  also,  and  there  is  no 
escape  for  them.  Producing  a  surplus  of  grain,  they 
are  obliged  to  compete  with  the  farmers  in  other 
countries  when  they  come  to  sell  this  surplus.  If  it 
is  kept  at  home,  the  supply  exceeds  the  demand,  and 
the  price  falls ;  if  it  is  sent  abroad,  the  foreign  price 
controls  the  price  of  the  whole  crop,  both  that  sold 
for  domestic  consumption,  and  that  which  is  ex¬ 
ported.  For  the  farmer,  therefore,  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  protection.  The  iron-master  is  protected 
against  the  competition  of  the  foreign  iron-master, 
but  the  farmer  cannot  be  protected  against  the  com¬ 
petition  of  the  foreign  farmer.  The  extent  of  their 
necessities,  and  the  power  of  combination,  enables 
the  working  men  to  protect  themselves  to  some  ex¬ 
tent,  by  controling  the  labor  market.  The  farmers 
cannot  very  well  get  up  a  “strike,”  or  combine  to 
control  the  price  of  wheat  in  Liverpool.  They  are, 


2  26  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

therefore,  the  helpless  victims  of  the  monopoly  sys¬ 
tem  more  than  any  other  class.  True,  all  working 
men  are  subjected  to  tribute  to  some  extent,  but  farm¬ 
ers  much  more  than  others.  They  have  consequently 
the  deepest  pecuniary  interest  in  the  overthrow  of 
the  spoliation  system,  and  the  complete  emancipation 
of  commerce  from  all  legislative  restrictions. 


BANDS  FOR  THE  BINDERS. 


227 


. 


* 


i 


* 


BANDS  FOR  THE  BINDERS. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

At  Princeton _ Bureau’s  Demand _ About  Ann  Eliza  Jones - The 

Wisconsin  Farmers _ Their  Resolves _ The  Minnesota  Farmers _ The 

Indiana  Grangers _ At  the  South _ Consistency _ A  Last  Word. 

AT  PRINCETON. 

My  Aunt's  adherents  met  at  Princeton,  Illinois, 
September  i,  in  one  of  the  largest,  most  enthusiastic 
and  harmonious  conventions  ever  held  in  Bureau 
county.  The  following  resolution  was  passed  by  an 
unanimous  vote : 

Resolved, ,  That  we  demand  the  immediate  repeal 
of  the  tariff,  not  only  on  iron,  salt  and  lumber,  but 
on  all  articles  except  those  taxed  for  revenue  only. 

This  granted,  the  tariff  extortion  would  be  re¬ 
moved  from  about  two  thousand  articles  and  classes 
of  commodities,  which  are  now  taxed  for  the  “  protec¬ 
tion  ”  of  a  few  American  monopolists.  At  present, 
tariff  duties  are  levied  upon  and  collected  from  near¬ 
ly  two  thousand  different  articles  of  consumption,  al¬ 
though  three-fourths  of  the  whole  amount  of  revenue 
derived  from  duties  on  imports,  is  collected  upon  less 
than  an  hundred  articles  or  classes  of  commodities. 

A  monopolist  newspaper  organ,  quite  near  and  dear 

229 


230 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


to  the  administration,  states  that  “  there  are  five  hun¬ 
dred  distinct  swindles  in  the  present  tariff,  which  ben¬ 
efit  only  the  parties  who  manipulated  it. 

In  truth,  there  are  nearer  two  thousand  distinct 
swindles  in  the  present  tariff,  for  every  one  of  the 
two  thousand  distinctively  “  protective  ”  duties,  and 
the  one  hundred  “  incidentally  protective,”  in  addition, 
is  a  “distinct  swindle  ”  upon  the  people,  for  the  bene¬ 
fit  of  “the  parties  who  manipulated  it” 

The  Bureau  brethren  also  administered  a  timely 
rebuke  to  its  local  partisan  press,  for  its  lukewarm¬ 
ness,  by  coming  up  bravely  to  the  support  of  the  in¬ 
dependent  newspaper  that  dared  uphold  the  right. 

It  warned  itself,  too,  against  the  political  vagrants 
and  hucksters  who  are  just  now  hanging  about  the 
farmer’s  camps  everywhere,  begging  for  crumbs. 

The  crop  of  newly-fledged  patriots  is  immense 
this  year;  every  village  has  its  quota,  but  they  in¬ 
spire  neither  pity  nor  alarm.  The  disguise  is  not  new, 
and  the  true  Granger  detects  the  vermin  as  much  by 
the  smell  as  its  gyrations. 

ABOUT  ANN  ELIZA  JONES. 

Matron  Dean  knew  the  Grange  had  not  forgotten 
how  a  little  babe  had  been  left  on  a  certain  door-step 
in  the  village  one  dark  night,  and  how  Ann  Eliza 
J ones  was  missing  the  next  morning.  Then  she  came 
home  to  “reform  herself,”  she  said,  and  who  should 
step  forward  and  tender  his  services  in  that  direction, 
but  that  horrid  scapegrace,  Tom.  Turner,  the  cause 
of  all  the  trouble? 


BANDS  FOR  THE  BINDERS. 


23l 


My  man  has  just  been  telling  me  of  a  political 
party  that  is  pretty  much  in  the  same  fix  with  Ann 
Eliza,  only  its  Tom  Turners  do  n’t  all  acknowledge 
the  corn.  At  any  rate,  this  party  is  traveling  about 
just  now,  “reforming  itself,”  disowning  its  offspring 
and  declaring  that  salary  thieves  shall  be  kicked  out  of 
its  house,  leaving  the  other  bad  boys  to  play 
by  themselves.  This  is  its  promise ;  this  is 
how  it  proposes  to  reform  itself.  Now,  when  Ann 
Eliza  came  home  and  made  promises,  we  only 
smiled.  When  she  swore  that  infant  should  never 
come  into  her  father’s  house  again,  we  thought  better 
of  her,  until  we  caught  her  and  Tom  Turner’s  friends 
running  around  there  every  hour,  carrying  the  nasty 
thing  porridge  and  bits  of  clothing,  to  keep  it  alive. 

So  with  my  old  man’s  political  party.  It  purposes 
to  reform  itself  by  purging  itself  of  thieves  and 
rogues,  and  has  employed  half  the  political  strumpets 
in  the  country  to  help.  The  first  Tom  Turner  is 
Oliver  P.  Morton,  salary  thief  of  Indiana.  This  per¬ 
son  has  not  disapproved  of  the  grab,  either  publicly 
or  privately,  nor  has  he  returned  his  share  of  the 
swag  to  the  people’s  treasury.  He  may  transfer  the 
amount  to  his  own  pocket  at  any  moment;  the  books 
of  the  treasury  hold  it  to  his  credit.  His  task  is  to 
apologize  for  the  steal  in  Ohio  in  speeches  that, 
Grangers  say,  sound  like  a  defense  of  it. 

Here  in  Iowa,  amongst  those  who  are  helping  this 
political  party  to  “  reform  itself,”  I  recognize  three 
detected  and  confessed  adulterers,  three  members  of 
the  last  Congress  who  have  pocketed  their  back  pay, 
eight  members  of  the  present  Congress  who  have 

15 


232 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


drawn  $3,126  of  increased  pay,  and  have  not  been 
sworn  into  office  yet ;  seven  state  officers,  five  fed¬ 
eral  officers,  two  railway  presidents  and  two  railway 
attorneys.  And  it  is  said  Mr.  John  A.  Logan,  the 
salary  thief  of  Illinois,  is  coming  over  to  help  this 
crowd  in  its  efforts  to  have  a  political  party  reform 
itself  by  kicking  out  its  rogues  and  thieves. 

These  are  among  the  most  recent  and  conspicuous 
performances  of  the  political  party  now  engaged  in 
the  business  of  “reforming  itself,”  for  the  purpose  of 
“  capturing  ”  the  Farmers  Movement.  This  is  why  a 
Matron  is  reminded  of  Ann  Eliza  Jones. 

THE  WISCONSIN  FARMERS. 

The  greatest  harmony  prevailed  at  the  People’s 
Convention  held  at  Monroe,  Wisconsin,  August  30. 
The  following  were  among  the  resolutions  adopted 
on  the  occasion  : 

Resolved ,  That  while  we  approve  and  commend 
the  good  accomplished  by  the  old  political  parties, 
we  believe  their  mission  to  be  fulfilled;  and,  judging 
of  the  future  by  the  past,  with  respect  to  pledges 
made  and  being  made  for  greatly  needed  re¬ 
forms,  we  declare  our  entire  want  of  confidence  in 
the  power  of  said  parties  under  the  leadership  of 
bad  and  designing  men,  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
present  exigencies,  and  to  restore  an  honest  and  effi¬ 
cient  management  of  public  affairs. 

Second — That  we  are  in  favor  of  a  tariff  for  reve¬ 
nue  only,  and  that  we  are  opposed  to  all  class  legis¬ 
lation,  either  State  or  National  ;  that  we  are  opposed 
to  monopolies  of  every  kind ;  that  a  law  compelling 


BANDS  FOR  THE  BINDERS. 


233 


one  man  to  pay  tax  to  support  the  business  of  anoth¬ 
er  is  nothing  less  than  legalized  robbery. 

Third — That  we  denounce  in  unqualified  terms  the 
act  of  Congress  increasing  their  pay,  commonly  known 
as  the  salary-grab,  and  pledge  ourselves  not  to  vote 
for  nor  support  any  man  for  office  who  voted  for  the 
bill  or  accepted  the  unjust  pay. 

Fourth — That  the  President  of  the  United  States 
in  signing  the  bill  by  which  the  tax-payers  are  robbed 
of  millions,  putting  $100,000  in  his  own  pocket,  has 
evinced  a  morbid  avarice  unparalleled  in  the  history 
of  our  country. 

Fifth — That  agriculture  is  the  principal  basis  of 
wealth  and  prosperity  in  this  country ;  therefore,  we 
believe  that  the  farmer  should  be  represented  in  eve¬ 
ry  branch  of  our  government,  and  that  we  pledge  our¬ 
selves  to  support  for  office  men  who  are  interested 
in  advancing  the  great  agricultural  interests  of  the 
nation,  and  of  the  laboring  classes  generally. 

THE  MINNESOTA  FARMERS. 

The  farmers  of  Minnesota  met  in  convention  at 
Owatonna,  September  2.  The  attendance  was  large 
and  the  proceedings  harmonious.  The  following  is 
the  substance  of  the  platform  adopted  on  the  occa¬ 
sion  : 

Whereas ,  The  Republican  and  Democratic  parties 
were  not  created  to  meet  the  grave  and  important 
questions  now  pressing  upon  the  attention  of  the 
people,  but  originated  from  other  issues,  now  com¬ 
pletely  adjusted  and  settled  ;  and 

Whereas ,  Both  of  these  parties,  so  formed  for 
other  purposes,  are  divided  in  sentiment  upon  the 
principal  issues  of  the  day;  and 


234 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


Whereas ,  The  new  questions  and  new  circum¬ 
stances  require  a  new  party,  made  up  exclusively  of 
those  who  agree  together  upon  the  principles  involved ; 
therefore, 

Resolved ,  That  we  hereby  separate  ourselves  from 
the  Republican  and  Democratic  parties,  renounce  all 
allegiance  to  them,  and  organize  a  new  and  independ¬ 
ent  political  party,  to  be  known  as  the  Peoples  Anti- 
Monopoly  party. 

Resolved ,  That  we  earnestly  invite  all  men,  native 
and  foreign-born,  without  regard  to  creed,  race,  party, 
or  occupation,  to  unite  with  us  at  the  ballot-box,  if 
they  agree  with  us  in  the  following  declaration  of 
principles : 

The  following  is  the  substance  of  the  declaration  : 

1.  Accepts  the  results  of  the  late  war,  and  equality 
of  citizenship. 

2.  Denounces  all  laws  that  rob  one  citizen  or  class 
to  enrich  another. 

3.  Demands  the  reduction  of  the  tariff,  and  that 
necessaries  of  light,  fuel,  clothing,  salt,  iron,  steel,  and 
lumber  be  admitted  free,  or  at  a  minimum  duty. 

4.  While  recognizing  the  great  work  of  the  Re¬ 
publican  party,  power  and  control  have  made  it  cor¬ 
rupt,  and  that  the  Credit  Mobilier  fraud,  increase  of 
salaries,  and  purchases  of  senatorial  seats,  have 
brought  it  to  disgrace. 

5.  Declares  coin  the  only  safe  basis  of  business. 

6.  That  parties  are  never  reformed  by  retaining 
them  in  power. 

7.  Declares  the  right  of  the  people  to  control  the 
railroads. 

8.  That  railroads  and  stage  companies,  being  com¬ 
mon  carriers,  are  bound  to  carry  on  equitable  and 
reasonable  terms. 

*  *  *  *  %  *  *  *  * 

That  we  will  recognize  no  political  party,  nor  indi- 


BANDS  FOR  THE  BINDERS. 


235 


vidual  aspirant  for  office,  as  worthy  of  our  support, 
unless  it  or  he  will  unite  with  us  in  declaring  that  a 
government  cannot  alienate  its  sovereignty,  either  in 
whole  or  in  part,  to  any  person,  association,  or  cor¬ 
poration,  for  any  purpose  whatsoever,  and  that  there¬ 
fore  no  person,  association,  or  corporation  can  legally 
and  properly  hold  and  exercise  any  right  of  sover- 
eignty  whatever,  but  is  always,  and  must  forever  re¬ 
main,  subject  to  the  sovereign  authority  and  control 
of  the  government. 

********* 

That  taxes  can  only  be  rightfully  levied  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  resources  to  defray  the  expenses 
of  the  government  in  the  discharge  of  its  legitimate 
duties,  supporting  public  institutions,  and  promoting 
the  public  welfare,  and  that  the  levying  of  such  im¬ 
posts  as  inure  to  the  benefit  of  a  class  or  classes  in 
the  community,  while  being  detrimental  to  other 
classes,  are  unjust  and  oppressive,  and  that  tariffs 
levied  on  imported  articles  may  be,  and  are,  so  treated 
as  to  become  thus  discriminative  and  injurious,  and 
that  it  is  therefore  essential  that  the  utmost  care 
should  be  taken  in  framing  such  tariff  laws  in  order 
that  these  objectionable  features  may  be  avoided,  and 
that  they  may  operate  for  the  well-being  of  the  entire 
community. 

That  the  salary  grab  and  other  steals  deserve  the 
severest  censure,  and  that  we  demand  the  repeal  of 
the  law  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  and  declare 
every  man  who  supported  and  approved  it,  or  aided 
and  abetted  in  procuring  its  passage  and  approved, 
or  received  benefits  through  its  enactment,  whether 
in  the  shape  of  back  or  mature  pay,  as  unworthy  of 
the  countenance  of  his  fellow  citizens,  and  unfit  for 
the  further  occupancy  of  any  position  of  honor  or 
trust. 

That  all  participants  in  the  Credit  Mobilier  and  other 


236  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

corrupt  transactions  exposed  by  the  investigations  of 
the  late  Congress,  and  by  the  treasury  investigations 
of  this  state,  deserve  to  have  been  punished  as  crim¬ 
inals,  and  that  those  who  aided  in  screening  them 
from  more  complete  exposure,  and  consequent  pun¬ 
ishment,  should  likewise  become  objects  of  public 
scorn  and  contumely. 

********* 

That  our  experience  proves  that  persons  elected 
by  parties  are  subservient  to  leaders  and  wire-pullers 
of  the  parties  electing  them,  in  the  performance  of 
their  public  duties,  to  the  neglect,  partially  or  wholly, 
of  the  opinion  and  wishes  of  the  masses  of  the  people, 
and  that,  therefore,  we,  as  farmers  and  laborers,  des¬ 
pair  of  ever  having  our  wishes  complied  with,  or  our 
interests  subserved  in  the  administration  of  public 
affairs,  until  we  generally  shall  take  upon  ourselves 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  we  owe  to  ourselves  and 
to  each  other  of  choosing  and  electing  our  own  can¬ 
didates,  independently  of  the  action  of  all  other 
political  organizations,  and  we  therefore  earnestly 
recommend  to  the  farmers  and  laborers  of  the  state 
that  we  shall  all  unite  and  do  all  in  our  power  to  pro¬ 
cure  the  nomination  and  election  of  full  and  complete 
county,  district,  and  state  tickets,  embracing  candi¬ 
dates,  selected  in  the  interests  of  the  people,  for  all 
the  positions  in  the  executive,  legislative,  and  judicial 
branches  of  the  government  to  be  elected  this  fall, 
and  that  to  the  end  that  this  policy  may  generally 
obtain,  we  recommend  the  holding  of  similar  county 
and  state  conventions  every  year,  and  solicit  the  co¬ 
operation  of  the  industrial  classes  of  other  states,  in 
order  that  the  influence  of  the  movement  may  be 
extended  to  the  administration  of  our  national  affairs. 

THE  INDIANA  GRANGERS. 

The  first  public  demonstration  of  the  Indiana 


BANDS  FOR  THE  BINDERS. 


237 


Grangers  came  off  at  Independence,  August  30,  and 
was  participated  in  by  between  four  and  five  thousand 
persons. 

At  an  early  hour  the  roads  centering  at  Independ¬ 
ence  were  thronged  with  wagons  ladened  with  living 
freight,  and  the  air  was  filled  with  music  and  with 
dust.  From  the  North,  South,  East,  and  West  the 
Grangers  came,  on  horseback  and  in  every  conceiv¬ 
able  style  of  vehicle.  Several  miles  from  the 
grove  chosen  for  the  celebration,  at  the  inter¬ 
section  of  the  various  roads,  the  organizations 
from  different  parts  of  the  county  met  and  formed 

in  line.  The  delegation  from  the  West  consisted 
of  two  hundred  and  thirty  wagons  filled  with 
merry-hearted  youths  and  gray-haired  veterans, 
of  Tipton  county,  and  seventy-five  wagons  brought 
the  delegations  from  the  North.  All  preliminaries 
being  perfected,  the  line  of  march  was  taken  up, 
headed  by  the  Cicero  band,  seated  in  a  wagon 
gaily  decorated  with  flags,  banners,  and  various  de¬ 
vices.  Then  came  the  Grange  Lodges,  according 
to  number.  The  Cicero  Grange  banner  bore  on 
one  side  the  following  motto:  “If  any  party  stands 
between  us,  let  it  die,”  and  on  the  other  side,  “  Build 
up  and  foster  home  industry.”  Bennetts  Grange 
motto  :  “In  union  there  is  strength,”  and  “  Farmers’ 
rights.”  Dixon  Grange  motto:  “The  voice  of  the 

o  o 

people  shall  be  heard,”  and  “  Conquer  we  must — our 
cause  is  just.”  Union  Grange  had  but  one  motto: 
“  Farmers,  you  are  the  strength  of  the  nation.”  Plum 
Grange  motto:  “Justice,  peace,  and  union,”  and 
“  God  and  our  country.”  Clay  Grange  motto:  “The 


238  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

hand  that  holds  the  bread — the  farmer,”  and  also, 
“  Who  would  be  free  must  himself  strike  the  blow.” 
The  banner  of  the  Union  Grange  from  Hamilton 
county  bore  the  following  motto  :  “  We’ll  support  no 
Congressman  who  supported  the  salary  grab.”  The 
banner  of  the  Centre  Grange,  from  the  same  county, 
had  the  following  inscription  :  “  Corn  must  go  up — 
monopolies  must  come  down.”  The  other  Lodges, 
having  but  recently  organized,  had  not  yet  adopted 
their  banners,  but  unfurled  the  flag  of  our  country 
as  an  excellent  substitute.  Arriving  at  the  grounds, 
the  various  banners  were  so  arranged  as  to  decorate 
artistically  the  speakers  stand,  and  the  vast  crowd 
occupied  the  rough  board  benches  that  had  been 
fitted  up  for  the  occasion. 

Hon.  J.  W.  Billingsley,  orator  of  the  day,  then  gave 
an  elaborate  address,  reviewing  the  aims  and  object 
of  the  order,  and  congratulating  the  farmers  npon  its 
remarkable  progress. 

AT  THE  SOUTH. 

Reports  from  the  South  are  of  the  most  cheering 
character.  The  Rural  Carolinian ,  an  agricultural 
monthly  published  at  Charleston,  published  a  list  of 
127  subordinate  Granges  of  the  Patrons  of  Hus¬ 
bandry,  in  South  Carolina,  giving  the  name,  post- 
office,  county,  and  master  of  each.  The  number 
continues  to  increase. 

The  Nashville  Cojnmercial Register  has  this  to  say 
of  the  Granges  :  “  If  any  portion  of  our  people  de¬ 
serve  a  controlling  voice  in  national  affairs,  it  is  the 


BANDS  FOR  THE  BINDERS. 


239 


farmers,  upon  whom  the  prosperity  and  advancement 
of  our  country  depends.  When  they  are  crippled  or 
retarded  it  shakes  the  very  foundation  of  our  gov¬ 
ernment,  and  causes  a  stagnation  which  reaches  all. 
If  they  will  only  be  united  and  stand  firm,  it  is  in  their 
power  to  revolutionize  the  present  political  system  of 
monopolies  and  corrupt  rings,  created  for  selfish  and 
pecuniary  gain,  without  any  regard  to  the  true  inter¬ 
ests  of  our  common  country.  At  the  same  time  we 
are  opposed  to  secret  political  organizations,  and  warn 
our  friends  against  such  proceedings.  Why  not  throw 
your  doors  wide  open,  and  invite  all  who  earnestly 
desire  justice  to  join  you  in  your  noble  undertakings 
of  purification  ?” 

Representatives  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry  of 
the  Georgia  State  Grange  met  in  Athens  on  the  14th 
inst.,  the  number  of  delegates  present  being  sixty- 
four.  A  correspondent  of  the  Savannah  Advertiser 
and  Republican  briefly  sums  up  the  result  thus:  “The 
number  of  Granges  organized  to-day  is  ninety-six. 
Great  enthusiasm  in  the  order  is  manifested  and  much 
important  business  has  been  transacted.  Among  the 
items  are  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  three 
to  report  at  the  October  meeting  on  the  practicabil¬ 
ity  of  establishing  a  bank  in  the  state  of  Georgia  in 
the  interest  of  the  order  ;  a  uniform  and  reliable  sys¬ 
tem  of  crop  reports  ;  the  issuing  of  a  circular  setting 
forth  our  position  to  merchants,  manufacturers  and 
dealers ;  and  the  construing  of  the  phrase  in  the  law 
of  membership,  ‘  any  persons  interested  in  agricul¬ 
tural  pursuits  in  article  5  of  the  constitution,’ be  con¬ 
strued  so  as  to  include  only  those  who  make  agricul¬ 
ture  their  leading  pursuit.” 


240 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


CONSISTENCY. 

A  religious  journal  lunching  upon  monopoly  pab¬ 
ulum,  is  trying  to  make  out  that  the  farmers  are  fear¬ 
fully  inconsistent.  This  pious  editor  thinks  he  has  dis¬ 
covered  a  conflict  between  the  theory  concerning  rail¬ 
roads,  held  by  farmers  and  others  six  years  ago,  and 
what  the  editor  supposes  them  to  hold  at  the  present 
day.  About  that  time,  a  movement  similar  in  some  re¬ 
spects  to  the  present  revolution,  spread  with  great  ra¬ 
pidity  through  several  states.  Its  chief  feature  at  that 
time  consisted  in  its  hostility  to  the  subsidy  system,  by 
which  farmers  were  robbed  for  the  benefit  of  railroad 
speculators.  Railroads  are  for  public  use,  said  the 
speculators,  therefore  government  may  make  people 
contribute  to  the  building  of  railroads.  The  prop¬ 
erty  in  railways  is  private  property,  replied  the  far¬ 
mer,  and  the  tax  you  assess  upon  our  farms  to  aid  in 
building  railroads  goes  to  swell  the  amount  of  this 
private  property  in  the  hands  of  its  owners,  the  rail¬ 
road  men.  The  public  gets  no  lower  rates  of  trans¬ 
portation  on  subsidized  roads  than  on  those  that  are 
built  with  the  money  of  their  owners.  The  tax  you 
make  us  pay  goes  to  the  private  use  of  railroad  own¬ 
ers,  and  not  to  the  public  use  of  roads  at  all.  We 
deny  that  government  can  compel  us  to  contribute  to 
the  capital  of  railway  companies.  This  was  the  far¬ 
mers’  theory  at  the  time  named,  and  one  which  most 
of  the  state  courts  sustained  by  their  decisions. 

The  religious  newspaper  feeding  upon  party  pap, 
is  trying  to  make  itself  believe  that  the  farmers  have 
abandoned  this  theory,  and  hold  with  the  pious  pa- 


BANDS  FOR  THE  BINDERS. 


24I 


per  that  railroads  are  public  concerns  which  govern¬ 
ment  may  compel  people  to  build  for  the  gratifica¬ 
tion  of  the  Scotts,  Vanderbilts,  or  other  gentlemen 
of  limited  means.  Or,  to  be  more  precise,  that  the 
subsidy  mode  of  robbing  the  farmers  to  enrich  rail¬ 
road  companies  is  commendable,  as  well  as  the  buy¬ 
ing  or  bribing  of  legislators,  the  packing  of  courts, 
or  other  fashionable  methods  of  carrying  out  this 
softening  system  of  piracy. 

The  pious  party  of  the  first  part  gets  its  notions 
from  Prof.  Walker’s  theory  that  government  shall  as¬ 
sume  the  administration  of  the  roads.  The  religious 
paper  assumes  that  this  is  the  essential  proposition 
of  the  farmers’  movement  of  the  present  time.  This 
is  because  it  is  fed  by  professional  politicians  upon 
government  pap,  and  because  it  gets  its  information 
from  party  “  organs  ”  that  are  trying  to“  capture  ”  the 
farmers  and  tighten  the  cords  that  bind  them  to  the 
monopoly  car, — organs  of  a  party  that  having  brought 
all  the  evils  of  which  we  complain  upon  us,  now  pro¬ 
claims  itself  as  the  great  “anti-monopoly”  party  that 
in  all  its  conventions  has  “  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  farmers  the  party  that  has  the  effrontery  to 
“promise”  us  relief, — relief  by  allowing  papa  gov¬ 
ernment  to  take  the  administration  of  the  roads ;  to 
reverse  the  governing  functions  as  heretofore,  and  to 
be  a  kind  of  agency  for  the  regulation  of  business 
and  the  management  of  private  property,  and  call  it 
public  beneficence,  to  continue  as  heretofore  to  rob 
the  farmers  by  the  subsidy  process,  and  swell  the  cap¬ 
ital  of  the  Scotts  and  Vanderbilts,  who  find  a  greater 
margin  in  building  railroads  with  other  people’s  mon¬ 
ey  than  with  their  own. 


242 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


The  farmers  emphatically  reject  this  theory.  An 
emphatic  condemnation  of  the  subsidy  system  has 
been  among  the  resolutions  put  forth  by  every  far¬ 
mers’  convention  held  in  the  western  states.  They 
have  in  every  instance  declared  their  hostility  to  the 
subsidy  system,  with  the  greatest  unanimity  and  per¬ 
sistence  ;  declaring  against  its  principle  as  well  as 
practice.  The  farmers  demand  that  railroads  shall  be 
under  the  control  of  law,  which  simply  means  that 
corporate  persons  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  laws 
of  right  and  wrong  to  which  natural  persons  are  sub¬ 
ject. 

Not  that  the  farmers  propose  to  “  run  the  railroads,” 
as  the  pious  paper  charges,  but  that  the  farmers 
propose  that  railroad  rings  and  money  rings  of  all 
kinds  shall  stop  running  the  government  for  their  own 
business  purposes,  at  the  cost  of  the  farmers,  whether 
by  the  subsidy  system,  the  tariff  system,  or  any  other 
system  of  organized  piracy.  This  is  what  the  Far¬ 
mer’s  Movement  means. 

A  LAST  WORD. 

It  must  be  plain  to  every  Granger  that  we  have 
but  one  work  to  do,  and  that  is  to  stand  firmly  by  the 
principles  of  independence,  commercial  freedom,  and 
individual  liberty  which  constitute  the  basis  of  our 
new  revolution.  We  have  not  to  listen  to  overtures 
to  “  trade  ”  with  any  man  or  any  body  of  men.  We 
must  recognize  the  inefficiency  of  existing  parties  for 
the  purposes  of  reform.  Both  have  been  for  some 
time  in  the  condition  of  two  planks,  neither  one  of 


BANDS  FOR  THE  BINDERS. 


243 


which  could  stand  up  by  itself  at  all.  Leaning  to¬ 
wards  each  other,  and  each  mutually  resting  upon  the 
other,  they  manage  easily  to  bear  up  the  load  of  cor¬ 
ruption  and  misgovernment  of  which  we  complain. 

It  must  be  apparent  to  every  Granger  that  the  ob¬ 
ject  of  the  republican  leaders  and  the  republican 
press  is  to  keep  the  democratic  party  in  the  field, 
that  they  may  fight  over  again  the  battles  of  our  civil 
war. 

Take  away  the  plank  which  both  Bourbon  and  “re¬ 
publican  ”  party  managers  are  trying  to  hold  up  in  the 
false  name  of  “  democracy,”  and  the  other  would  not 
stand  upright  for  a  single  moment.  If  we  would 
bring  the  monopoly  party  plank  to  the  ground,  we 
must  first  take  away  its  so-called  “  democratic  ”  sup¬ 
porter. 

What  Mr.  Kittredge  recently  said  to  our  friends  in 
Ohio,  might  be  repeated  with  profit  everywhere. 

“  I  know  of  no  other  method  by  which  our  motives 
in  this  attempt  to  build  up  a  new  party  can  be  vindi¬ 
cated,  except  by  the  declaration  and  advocacy  of 
sound  political  principles,  and  by  the  nomination  and 
support  of  honest  and  upright  men  for  public  office. 
By  pursuing  this  course,  regardless  of  the  question 
whether  we  shall  succeed  in  this  election,  whether 
we  shall  secure  this  or  that  political  office,  or 
whether  we  shall  injure  or  enhance  the  prospects  of 
either  of  the  old  political  parties,  we  shall,  at  least, 
persuade  men  that  we  are  in  earnest  in  what  we  have 
undertaken  ;  that  we  do  not  make  a  profession  of 
seeking  the  public  welfare,  while  we  are,  in  fact,  in¬ 
tent  upon  individual  advantage.  And,  my  fellow  cit¬ 
izens,  to  be  honestly  in  earnest  is,  in  itself,  a  power  in 
the  politics  of  to-day.” 


FREEDOM  IN  TRADE. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Great  Financial  Resource _ No  Connection  between  Revenue  *nd 

Tariff _ Universal  Free  Trade _ Its  Advantages  on  a  Large  Scale _ Plain 

Points _ What  Interests  are  capable  of  Protection _ The  Office  of  Commerce 

_ Reciprocal  or  Retaliatory  Tariff _ OurSecondary  Interest _ Only  Aggra¬ 
vates  the  Mischief _ National  Independence _ A  Favorite  Argument _ 

The  True  Measure  of  Wages _ How  to  Equalize  Compensation _ Cause  of 

Disparity  of  Remuneration _ Labor’s  Security _ A  Home  Market _ Arti¬ 
ficial  Distinction  of  Labor _ The  Whole  Earth  as  a  Home  Market _ An  In¬ 
justice  and  a  Fallacy _ A  Delusion _ Purely  a  Burden _ A  Chart  to  guide 

Statesmen. 

We  assume  at  the  start  that  the  system  of  revenue 
based  upon  import  duties,  as  a  mode  of  indirect  tax¬ 
ation,  ought  to  be  the  great  financial  resource  of  the 
federal  government.  The  constant  association  in  the 
mind  of  revenue  and  tariff ,  however,  leads  to  a 
degree  of  confusion  which  we  must  dispel  at  once  by 
remembering  that  they  have  no  natural  connection. 
A  tariff  is  but  one  way  out  of  many  of  collecting  a 
revenue,  and  our  investigation  will  be  greatly  assisted 
for  the  time  being  if  we  put  the  question  of  revenue 
quite  out  of  sight  We  are  thus  left  free  to  consider 
the  operation  of  duties  apart  from  their  object,  and 
to  ascertain  whether  they  are  useful  in  themselves, 
and,  if  not,  why,  and  how  far  they  are  prejudicial. 

Let  us  suppose  that  there  is  not  a  single  restric- 

244 


FREEDOM  IN  TRADE. 


245 


tion  upon  traffic  in  the  whole  world ;  but  a  universal 
Free  Trade,  entirely  untrammeled,  and  left  to  every¬ 
body’s  wants  and  caprices.  It  is  plain  that  there 
would  soon  take  place  a  mutually  beneficial  exchange 
of  commodities  on  every  side ;  that  labor  would  eve¬ 
rywhere  be  applied  in  the  most  productive  manner ; 
that  the  aggregate  of  wealth  would  increase  with 
greater  rapidity  than  upon  any  other  conditions. 
The  advantages  of  Free  Trade  on  a  large  scale  are 
completely  illustrated  by  those  on  a  small  one.  If 
the  traffic  of  a  country  or  state  is  most  profitable 
when  free,  so  is  that  of  a  continent,  or  the  world. 
They  are  both  made  up  of  individual  transactions, 
differing  only  in  number  and  magnitude.  Trade  is 
only  exchange ;  mutual  benefit  is  its  theory;  its  in¬ 
ducement,  mutual  wants  ;  and  mutual  cupidity  guards 
it  upon  both  sides.  This  is  true  of  great  trades  as 
well  as  small  ones,  and  of  exchanges  made  across  an 
ocean  as  well  as  across  a  counter.  While  these  gen¬ 
eral  views  will  not  be  contradicted,  they  are  regarded 
as  mere  abstractions,  and  not  at  all  applicable  to  the 
condition  of  affairs  on  this  planet.  We  must  bring 
our  hypothesis,  therefore,  into  more  practical  limits. 

We  separate  England  and  America  from  the  list  of 
nations,  the  two  leading  commercial  countries,  and 
consider  only  their  relations  to  each  other.  We  as¬ 
sume  that  hitherto  a  system  of  Free  Trade  has  pre¬ 
vailed  between  them,  until  England,  instigated  by  a 
noisy,  delusive  desire  to  be  independent,  concludes  to 
abandon  to  some  extent  the  principles  of  freedom, 
and  to  impose  duties  on  imports  coming  from  this 
country.  A  diminution  of  traffic  and  its  proceeds  is, 


246 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


of'  course,  the  result.  Harmed  and  stung  by  the 
movement,  we  begin  to  inquire  what  we  shall  do. 
The  ingenious  empiric  answers,  “Why,  lay  a  tariff  and 
retaliate ;  we  will  protect  ourselves,  and  keep  her  out 
of  our  ports,  as  she  drives  us  from  her  own.  We  will 
thus  neutralize  the  harm,  bring  her  to  terms,  protect 
home  industry,  and  be  independent  of  foreign  labor.” 
It  is  this  theory  of  reciprocal  tariffs  and  protective 
duties  that  we  wish  first  to  consider. 

To  lay  an  import  duty  on  something  that  cannot 
be  produced  at  home  is  to  raise  its  price  and  diminish 
its  consumption.  If  laid  upon  something  which  can 
be  produced  at  home,  but  only  at  a  greater  cost  than 
the  imported  article,  the  duty  will  not  begin  to  ope¬ 
rate  as  a  “  protection  ”  until  it  exceeds,  or  at  least 
equals,  the  difference  between  the  cost  of  the  import¬ 
ed  and  home  production.  When  it  goes  beyond  this 
difference,  all  the  excess  is  so  much  protection.  When 
it  becomes  so  great  that  there  is  no  longer  any  in¬ 
ducement  to  import,  and  the  demand  has  fallen  with 
the  capacity  of  the  home  supply,  or  that  supply  has 
been  stimulated  so  as  to  equal  the  entire  demand, 
importation  ceases,  and  the  duty  becomes  a  prohibi- 
tion.  We  have,  then,  three  grades  in  the  operation 
of  duties ;  the  first,  not  sufficiently  high  to  furnish 
any  protection  at  all ;  the  second,  protective,  but  not 
prohibitory  :  and  the  third,  both  protective  and  pro¬ 
hibitory.  It  will  be  satisfactory,  perhaps,  to  consider 
such  duties  as  are  more  or  less  protective, — a  class 
comprehending  all  except  such  as  are  merely  nominal, 
or  those  imposed  upon  articles  which  can  neither  be 
produced  nor  substitutes  found  for  them  at  home. 


FREEDOM  IN  TRADE. 


247 


What  interests  are  capable  of  protection  ?  It  is 
clear  that  England  cannot  protect  by  duties  the  man¬ 
ufacture  of  iron,  nor  the  United  States  the  cultiva¬ 
tion  of  cotton,  nor  China  that  of  tea.  These  are 
exporting  interests.  Every  nation  produces  a  surplus 
of  some  things,  in  the  natural  application  of  its  in¬ 
dustry,  and  suffers  a  deficiency  of  others.  To  equal¬ 
ize  these  wants  and  excesses  is  the  office  of  commerce. 
The  branch  of  industry  which  produces  a  surplus  is 
generally  the  leading  branch,  and  the  interests  of  the 
majority  are  involved  in  its  prosperity.  Agriculture 
is  the  leading  interest  of  America,  and  manufactures 
of  England.  One  or  the  other  is  the  leading  inter¬ 
est  of  every  great  commercial  nation.  U  nless  it  has 
a  great  surplus  of  something  to  export,  it  may  be  a 
great,  but  not  a  commercial  nation.  England  is  a 
commercial  nation,  because  it  produces  a  surplus  of 
manufactures :  America,  because  it  raises  an  excess 
of  agricultural  productions.  Nearly  all  productive 
industry  is  either  agricultural  or  manufacturing,  using 
those  terms  in  their  largest  sense ;  the  first  applying 
to  all  the  labor  employed  in  getting  raw  material 
from  the  earth,  and  the  second  to  all  the  labor  spent 
in  modifying  and  preparing  such  material  for  con¬ 
sumption.  Commerce  is  auxiliary,  and  thrives  upon 
the  briskness  of  exchanges  and  the  subdivision  of 
labor.  The  leading  interest  of  England  corresponds 
with  the  secondary  interest  of  this  country,  and  its 
secondary  with  our  leading  interest.  We  have  a  sur¬ 
plus  of  one  kind,  and  she  of  another.  If,  then,  ac¬ 
cording  to  our  hypothesis,  England  lays  import-duties, 

upon  what  must  they  be  laid?  Upon  the  products 

16 


248 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


of  the  soil  and  the  raw  materials  produced  from  the 
earth.  The  effect  of  such  duties  is  to  protect  her 
agriculture,  or  secondary  interest,  and  to  depress  her 
manufactures,  or  leading  interest:  first,  by  subject¬ 
ing  the  consumption  of  foreign  productions,  to  a  tax 
equal  to  the  duty  laid  upon  them — a  protection  as 
efficient  as  so  much  bounty  upon  the  articles  pro¬ 
duced  at  home  ;  second,  by  reducing  the  capacity  to 
buy  of  the  foreign  purchasers,  upon  whose  custom  de¬ 
pends  the  prosperity  of  the  exporting  interest.  It 
would  have  a  two-fold  effect  upon  America,  also : 
first,  to  injure  our  agricultural,  or  leading  interest ; 
second,  to  stimulate  our  second,  or  manufacturing  in¬ 
terest.  The  injury  to  the  one  would  be  the  result  of 
its  partial  exclusion  from  the  markets  of  England  by 
the  duty  laid  to  protect  the  corresponding  interest 
there ;  and  the  benefit  to  the  other  would  arise  from 
the  former  being  thus  compelled  to  sell  a  larger  pro¬ 
portion  of  its  produce  and  to  buy  a  larger  proportion 
of  its  wares  and  fabrics  at  home.  The  consequence, 
therefore,  of  a  tariff  in  one  country  alone,  so  far  as  it 
is  protective,  is  to  injure  certain  interests,  and  to 
stimulate  others  in  each  country;  and  the  interest 
protected  in  one  is  prejudiced  in  the  other,  and  vice 
versa. 

We  now  examine  the  reciprocal  or  retaliatory 
tariff,  which  we  are  supposed  to  adopt  by  way  of 
remedy.  As  before  remarked,  we  cannot,  by  taxing 
imports,  protect  our  exporting  or  agricultural  inter¬ 
est,  which,  depending  for  prosperity  upon  the  foreign 
demand,  seeks  only  free  egress  and  shuns  obstruc¬ 
tions.  The  operation  of  protection  with  us  is  in 


jlh  •**><£*  * 


FREEDOM  IN  TRADE. 


249 


favor  of  our  secondary  interest, — an  interest,  as  we 
have  seen,  already  stimulated  by  the  policy  of  Eng¬ 
land,  against  which  we  are  seeking  a  remedy.  It 
also  injures  our  exporting  interest,  by  still  further 
weakening  J:he  means  of  the  English  consumers  to 
buy  of  us.  This,  of  course,  produces  a  further  de¬ 
clension  of  commerce  between  the  two  countries,  and 
the  double  result  in  England  of  diminishing  the 
rivalry  of  our  agriculture,  and  our  demand  for  her 
manufactures ;  prejudicing  even  more  than  before 
her  leading,  and  aiding  her  secondary  interest.  A 
reciprocal  tariff,  therefore,  only  aggravates  the  mis¬ 
chief  already  done  by  a  single  tariff ;  each  helping 
the  other  to  sustain  or  depress  the  same  branch  of 
industry.  This  simple,  theoretical  view  of  the  sub¬ 
ject,  expressed  necessarily  in  general  terms,  is  possi¬ 
bly  open  to  many  exceptions  and  qualifications  in  the 
o-iven  case,  but  its  abstract  truth  seems  to  be  exceed- 
ingly  clear. 

If,  in  reply  to  these  views,  it  be  said  that  the  results 
thus  briefly  traced  are  desirable ;  that  it  is  better  for 
each  nation  to  be  more  independent  of  the  other ; 
that  the  weaker  interest  in  each  ought  to  be  encour¬ 
aged,  that  all  the  elements  of  greatness  and  power 
may  be  developed  in  both  countries, — we  can  only 
reply  that  these  considerations  are  in  contradistinction 
to  the  supposed  benefits  of  mutual  free  trade ;  that 
they  are  as  applicable  to  states  and  counties  as  they 
are  to  nations ;  that  they  are  opposed  to  the  general 
maxims  of  self-government;  deny  the  reciprocal  bene¬ 
fits  of  commerce;  are  founded  upon  the  principles  of 
exclusiveness,  local  selfishness,  and  national  jealousy  • 


250 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


•  and,  if  true,  they  ought  to  be  carried  out  boldly,  and 
the  benefits  they  advocate  enforced  by  the  absolute 
prohibitions  of  the  old  Chinese  policy.  But  the  fact 
is,  the  independence  of  nations,  like  that  of  individ¬ 
uals,  is  neither  possible  nor  desirable.  It  is  the  mutual 
wants  and  mutual  utility  of  men  that  promote  the 
virtue  and  harmony  of  mankind,  whether  in  their  in- 
H  tercourse  as  individuals  or  nations. 

The  favorite  argument  against  free  trade  between 
this  country  and  Europe  is,  that  a  ruinous  competi¬ 
tion  with  the  cheap  labor  of  that  continent  would  be 
the  result ;  a  depreciation  of  wages  here  to  the 
standard  of  wages  there.  It  is  argued  that  with  this 
depreciation  would  come  the  stupidity  and  crimes  of 
a  pauper  community  ;  that  the  privileges  of  freedom 
would  be  thrown  away  upon  the  gross  sottishness  of 
the  poor.  If  true,  this  argument  is  of  vast  import¬ 
ance.  Our  laboring  classes  now  enjoy  a  far  better 
remuneration  for  their  toil  than  their  rivals  beyond 
the  Atlantic ;  and,  to  maintain  this  advantage,  any 
legislation  would  be  proper,  however  selfish  or  ex¬ 
clusive.  But  it  is  not  true.  Wages  would  approach 
nearer  to  an  equality  than  at  present,  but  it  would 
be  more  of  a  benefit  to  foreign  labor  than  a  burden 
to  our  own.  To  ascertain  if  these  views  be  correct, 
we  have  only  to  consider  the  theory  of  wages,  and 
upon  what  depends  the  measure  of  their  proportion. 

The  amount  of  pecuniary  payment  given  for  labor 
is  not,  in  the  first  place,  the  true  measure  of  wages, 
but  the  proportion  of  useful  commodities  for  which, 
at  any  give'n  period  or  place,  that  labor  may  be  ex¬ 
changed.  If,  then,  it  be  admitted  that  free  trade 


FREEDOM  IN  TRADE. 


251 


would  diminish  to  some  extent  the  nominal  rate  of 
wao-es,  it  would  reduce  the  cost  of  most  of  the  articles 
which  labor  seeks  in  exchange.  Labor  would  be  equal¬ 
ly  well  paid  so  long  as  the  proportion  of  wages  and 
commodities  remained  the  same.  In  the  second 
place,  the  rate  of  wages  for  mere  physical  labor  will 
be  about  equal  in  all  branches  of  industry,  in  any 
free  country;  for,  if  one  department  is  much  better 
paid  than  others,  enough  labor  will  be  attracted  from 
those  that  are  worse  paid  to  equalize,  to  a  great  ex¬ 
tent,  the  compensation  of  all.  There  is  a  cause  for 
the  inadequacy  of  proportion  that  wages  bear  to 
labor  in  most  countries.  In  some  parts  of  Europe, 
diligent  toil  is  rewarded  with  only  the  most  scanty 
and  precarious  pittance  that  can  possibly  support  life. 
For  this  monstrous  disparity  of  remuneration  there 
must  be  some  general  cause.  The  wealth  of  com¬ 
munity  is  produced  by  the  application  of  labor  to 
capital,  and  its  proceeds  are  divided  in  certain  pro¬ 
portions  between  those  who  furnish  the  capital  and 
the  labor.  If  the  capital  were  owned  by  the  laborers 
in  equal  degree,  the  proceeds  of  labor  would  be 
divided  with  great  equality  and  harmony.  But, 
where  capital  is  owned  by  those  who  do  not  do  the 
labor,  and  the  labor  is  performed  by  those  who  do 
not  own  the  capital,  a  struggle  arises  for  the  proceeds, 
in  which  it  is  plain  who  will  prevail.  Capital,  having 
something  to  live  on,  can  await  the  result  with  pa¬ 
tience;  while  labor,  compelled  to  live  from  hand  to 
mouth,  is  forced  by  starvation  to  surrender  at  dis¬ 
cretion.  With  capital  on  one  side,  and  labor  on  the 
other,  the  latter  is  a  slave  to  the  former,  and  is  in- 


252  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

dulged  with  its  husks,  for  its  master  cannot  afford  to 
let  it  perish. 

Land  forms  the  great  bulk  of  capital  everywhere. 
From  its  cultivation  come  most  of  the  absolute  neces¬ 
saries  of  life;  and  it  has  an  intrinsic  value,  inde¬ 
pendent  of  its  relative  cost.  The  possession  of  a 
little  land  confers  almost  all  the  means  of  self-sup¬ 
port,  giving  to  its  possessor  a  degree  of  independence, 
and  placing  him,  to  some  extent,  above  the  tyranny 
of  wealth.  If  every  laborer  could  have  land  enough 
to  supply  him  with  necessary  food,  fuel,  and  the  raw 
material  for  clothing,  it  is  clear  that  labor  could  only 
be  attracted  from  the  plow  by  the  prospect  of  wages 
above  the  minimum  of  subsistence  ;  and  that,  in  the 
division  of  its  proceeds,  the  disparity  would  cease  to 
be  so  grossly  in  favor  of  capital.  The  independence 
of  labor  would  be  in  proportion  to  the  cheapness  of 
land,  and  the  higher  the  wages  by  which  wealth 
would  be  able  to  purchase  its  services.  But,  if  lands 
and  rents  are  high,  as  in  England,  there  can  be  no 
share  of  capital  accessible  to  the  laborer, — no  resort 
of  independence  within  his  reach.  Here,  as  there, 
his  wages  would  be  at  the  minimum,  and  his  pros¬ 
pects  without  a  hope  of  relief. 

The  rate  of  wages,  then,  varies  inversely  with  the 
value  of  land ;  and,  if  land  is  very  cheap,  wages  will 
rise  to  a  point  where  they  furnish  a  just  and  adequate 
remuneration  to  toil.  Such  is  the  situation  of  this 
country,  and  such  would  it  continue  to  be,  however 
free  its  intercourse  with  others.  The  comparatively 
small  cost  of  land  everywhere  among  us,  its  merely 
nominal  price  in  most  parts  of  our  vast  territory,  is 


FREEDOM  IN  TRADE. 


253 


the  security  of  labor  against  destitution, — a  security 
of  which  no  foreign  competition  can  deprive  us.  It 
might  divert  some  of  our  labor  from  the  factory  to 
the  field ;  yet  the  field  is  broad  enough  for  all,  and 
extends  to  all  its  plenty  and  independence. 

A  home  market  is  another  favorite  idea  with  the 
advocates  of  Protection.  They  dwell  with  great  con¬ 
fidence  upon  its  benefits  to  the  agricultural  producers ; 
it  will  supply,  they  say,  and  more  than  supply,  all  the 
loss  in  foreign  demand  under  a  restrictive  system. 
They  argue  that  the  prosperity  of  manufactures  in¬ 
creases  the  number  of  consumers  here ;  and  they  can 
afford  to  pay  the  farmer  a  larger  price  for  his  products 
than  if  they  were  loaded  with  the  additional  expense 
of  transportation  to  a  distant  market.  By  way  of 
illustration,  they  point  to  numerous  thriving  villages 
and  cities,  and  the  populous  country  about  them.  It 
is  true  that  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  manufactur¬ 
ing  village  grows  with  its  growth,  and  the  prosperity 
of  the  neighborhood  embraces  the  branch  of  agricul¬ 
ture  with  all  the  rest,  and  this  equally  whether  the 
growth  of  that  village  be  natural  or  forced,  yet  its 
prosperity  is  sustained  by  burdens  falling  somewhere, 
if  not  there.  If  the  people  of  this  country  can,  as  a 
general  thing,  invest  their  labor  in  tillage  to  better 
advantage  than  in  manufactures,  and  if  artificial  legis¬ 
lation  diverts  a  considerable  portion  of  labor  to  the 
latter,  the  result  will  indeed  be  an  appearance  of 
local  thrift ;  while  really  the  prosperity  of  the  whole 
country  is  diminished.  The  partial  benefit,  being 
concentrated  and  local,  would  probably  be  more  ap¬ 
parent  than  the  general  mischief,  which  is  spread  over 


I 


254  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

a  vast  area,  and  depresses  a  universal  interest  in  de¬ 
tail.  Sections  may  thus  be  enriched  at  the  expense 
of  the  whole,  and  local  interests  be  at  war  with  those 
of  the  country  at  large.  Keeping  this  in  view,  and 
remembering  to  be  on  our  guard  against  both  the 
speciousness  of  appearances  and  the  zeal  of  selfish¬ 
ness,  we  come  to  the  consideration  of  the  general 
theory  of  a  home  market. 

If  we  are  better  adapted,  as  a  people,  under  all  cir¬ 
cumstances,  to  engage  in  manufactures  rather  than 
agriculture,  it  is  safe  to  presume  that  the  private 
sagacity  of  freemen  will  discover  it,  without  the  hints 
and  helps  of  government.  If  not,  then  the  artificial 
diversion  of  labor  from  a  more  to  a  less  profitable 
pursuit  will  diminish  the  aggregate  income  of  labor, 
and,  of  course,  the  average  to  be  distributed  to  its 
every  department.  Again,  this  artificial  distinction 
of  labor,  does  not  increase  the  number  of  mouths  to 
be  fed,  nor  stimulate  consumption,  so  that  a  greater 
quantity  of  products  will  be  required. 

This  country  is  capable,  from  its  great  extent,  fer¬ 
tile  soil,  and  comparatively  thin  population,  of  raising 
agricultural  products  enough  to  supply  half  of  Eu¬ 
rope.  It  is  absurd,  therefore,  to  talk  of  a  home  mar¬ 
ket,  to  be  furnished  merely  by  a  change  in  its  indus¬ 
try,  and  not  in  its  population,  as  offering  an  adequate 
demand  for  the  unlimited  supplies  which  it  is  capable 
of  producing.  This  theory  of  a  home  market  is 
based  upon  the  idea  that  commerce  cannot  regulate 
itself;  that  industry,  left  free,  will  not  seek  the  most 
profitable  employment,  nor  be  rewarded  by  the  most 
profitable  exchanges  ;  and  that  foreign  trade  is  waste- 


FREEDOM  IN  TRADE. 


255 


ful  and  pernicious.  If  carried  out,  this  theory  leads 
to  the  ridiculous  conclusion,  that  all  sorts  of  business 
should  be  carried  on  close  together,  for  the  sake  of 
convenience  in  the  transactions  between  them.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  explain  how  large  a  home  market 
should  be,  or  say  why,  if  it  is  to  be  limited  at  all,  it 
should  go  beyond  the  limits  of  a  single  state,  county, 
or  township.  Or,  indeed,  how  many  home  markets 
there  are  to  be  in  this  little  world,  when  the  home- 
market  system  comes  to  full  perfection.  True  econ¬ 
omy,  liberality,  and  humanity  have  the  whole  earth 
as  one  home  market,  where  every  commodity  should 
be  made  where  it  can  be  made  the  cheapest,  and  sold 
where  it  can  be  sold  to  the  best  advantage.  Every 
other  doctrine  is  local,  timid,  and  selfish  ;  and  as  free¬ 
men,  we  utterly  reject  and  deny  it. 

We  have  thus  endeavored  to  show  that  Free  Trade 
is  better  than  restriction,  apart  from  any  considera¬ 
tion  of  revenue ;  that  the  doctrine  of  Protection  is 
an  injustice  and  a  fallacy;  that  retaliatory  tariffs  are 
delusive ;  that  the  quantum  of  wages  does  not  fall 
with  the  prevalence  of  free  exchange;  and  that  the 
theory  of  a  home  market  is  utter  sophistry  and  non¬ 
sense.  If  these  views  are  correct,  it  must  be  admit¬ 
ted  that  the  necessity  of  raising  a  revenue  by  duties 
is  purely  a  burden,  both  in  its  direct  effect  as  taxa¬ 
tion,  and  its  indirect  effect  as  protection ;  and  that  it 
oueht  to  be  collected  without  reference  to  the  en- 
couragement  of  any  particular  branch  of  industry 
whatever.  With  such  theoretical  views  as  a  chart  to 
guide  the  statesman,  he  can  approach  the  complicated 
subject  of  revenue  with  something  like  clearness  of 


256 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


ideas ;  and,  giving  up  all  false  collateral  objects, 
range  the  load  of  taxation  on  the  principles  of 
partial  economy. 


ar- 

im- 


CONCERNING  THE  REMEDY. 


THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Servants  of  the  People - The  Source  of  Power - The  President’s 

Regal  Authority _ Executive  Patronage - Centralization  Preventing  a  True 

Expression  of  the  Popular  Will - Government  Patronage  in  Europe _ 

Checks  against  Back-door  Influence - Errors  of  our  Constitution _ Office- 

seekers  in  the  United  States _ Stimulants  to  Partisan  Activity _ How  Pol¬ 
iticians  betray  Public  Interest _ How  Presidents  secure  Creatures  and  Sup¬ 

ports,  etc.,  etc. 

As  all  governments  must  be  administered  by  per¬ 
sons  selected  from  the  mass  to  perform  certain  du¬ 
ties,  supposed  to  be  for  the  common  good  of  the 
community  in  which  they  live,  so  must  those  persons 
be  rewarded  for  the  services  they  render,  according 
to  the  time  and  talents  necessary  for  the  proper  dis¬ 
charge  of  those  duties.  These  persons  always  form 
a  corps  of  common  interest,  which  is  constantly  striv¬ 
ing  to  increase  the  term  of  office,  make  it  more  se¬ 
cure,  and  enhance  its  emoluments  at  the  expense  of 
the.  people.  They  are,  in  fact,  the  servants  of  the 
people,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  and  as  such 
occupy  positions  necessarily  beneath  the  rank  of  in¬ 
dependent  freemen ;  in  accepting  office,  they  ought 
to  be  considered  as  having  derogated  from  the  rank 
of  an  independent  republican.  They  may,  it  is  true, 

earn  distinction  by  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  du- 

259 


26o 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


ties — just  as  an  head-waiter  is  respectable  when  he 
fulfills  his  duties,  but  they  cannot  under  any  circum¬ 
stances  arrogate  to  themselves,  superiority  over  their 
employers.  In  monarchical  countries,  where  the  sov¬ 
ereign  is  the  source  of  all  power,  and  the  fountain  of 
honor,  he  appoints  persons  to  rule  the  people,  and 
delegates  to  them  various  gradations  of  power.  The 
lowest  of  them — in  institutions  where  the  sovereign 
is  the  state,  and  the  people  nobody,  is,  of  course,  of 
rank  superior  to  the  people,  and  is  looked  up  to  by 
them ;  but  the  highest  is  nevertheless  lower  than  the 
sovereign  whom  he  serves  and  from  whose  hand  he 
receives  both  office  and  perquisites. 

In  a  republic  like  our  own,  the  reverse  of  this  state 
of  things  is  supposed  to  exist.  The  people  are  ’the 
sovereign,  the  source  of  power,  and  the  fountain  of 
honor.  When  a  person  steps  out  of  their  ranks 
where  he  has  been  engaged  in  promoting  the  general 
welfare,  by  accumulating  individual  wealth,  through 
his  industry  and  skill,  relinquishes  his  position  and 
condescends  to  serve  his  fellow  citizens,  he  does  not 
become  greater  than  those  whom  he  serves,  but 
should  rank  below  them  in  the  social  scale.  One 
great  reason  why  the  offices  of  government  here 
have  been  looked  upon  as  both  honorable  and  profit¬ 
able,  has  been  that  the  principles  of  our  institutions 
have  been  imperfectly  carried  out.  Our  officers  are 
theoretically  elected  by  the  people,  but  for  the  most 
part  the  people  have  contented  themselves  with 
electing  a  chief  magistrate,  and  delegating  to  him 
regal  authority,  in  the  right  to  appoint  and  pay  num¬ 
berless  officers,  always  providing  first  for  his  own  and 


THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE. 


26l 


his  wife’s  kin,  all  of  whom  look  to  him  as  the  source  of 
honor  and  profit,  and  all  of  whom  seek  to  strengthen  his 
position  and  supposed  rights  in  contravention  of  the 
free  exercise  of  the  popular  will.  The  consequence  is, 
that  he  centers  in  himself  a  patronage  which  creates 
in  the  bosom  of  the  community  a  political  interest 
antagonistic  to  that  of  the  people.  In  proportion  as 
the  number  and  emoluments  of  these  officers  holding 
from  the  chief  magistrate  are  more  or  less  consider¬ 
able,  will  the  government  be  more  or  less  “  central¬ 
ized  ”  and  the  means  of  thwarting  or  perverting  a 
true  expression  of  the  popular  will  be  more  efficient. 
To  allow  of  a  great  executive  patronage,  is  to  estab¬ 
lish  a  kind  of  feudal  system.  In  the  earlier  stages  of  that 
system,  a  successful  warrior  divided  among  his  armed 
followers  the  lands  of  the  conquered,  which  were 
held  at  his  pleasure,  the  occupant  being  liable  to  mil¬ 
itary  service  when  called  upon.  Of  precisely  the 
same  tenure  is  the  holding  of  office  at  the  present  day. 
The  successful  candidate  divides  the  offices  among 
his  political  followers,  who  are  liable  to  political  ser¬ 
vice  when  called  upon.  Hence,  “To  the  victors  be¬ 
long  the  spoils,”  has  long  been  the  battle  cry  of  all 
political  parties  in  this  country.  That  incipient  stage 
of  feudality  was,  by  the  growing  power  of  the  incum¬ 
bents,  ultimately  perfected  into  hereditary  tenures ; 
and  there  is  no  reason  why  emoluments  acquired  by 
the  ballot-box  should  not  strengthen  the  possessors 
and  enhance  their  pretensions  equally  with  those  ac¬ 
quired  by  the  sword.  When  we  hear  inflated  imbecility 
asking  for  “  second  ”  and  “  third”  terms,  encouraged 
by  men  who  make  politics  a  trade,  the  people  should 


262 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


know  in  what  direction  the  political  compass  points. 
The  advancement  of  civilization  has  not  changed  the 

o 

desires  of  mankind,  although  it  may  have  modified 
the  means  by  which  they  are  to  be  gratified. 

In  the  countries  of  Europe  under  monarchical 
sway,  the  patronage  of  the  government  became  the 
most,  if  not  the  only  efficient  means  of  sustaining 
the  royal  authority  against  the  encroachments  of  the 
people ;  and  this  dependence  upon  patronage  in¬ 
creases  as  the  sway  of  the  sovereign  weakens.  Thus 
in  Russia,  where  the  power  of  the  crown  is  absolute 
and  undisputed,  the  “  centralization  ”  of  the  execu¬ 
tive  offices  is  loose. 

The  under  officers  are  less  impressed  with  the  vigi¬ 
lance  of  the  appointing  power,  which  has  no  occasion 
to  make  crown  dependents  feel  the  necessity  of  pro¬ 
moting  the  royalist  cause.  Hence  corruption  prevails 
to  a  most  remarkable  degree.  The  officers  are  ap¬ 
pointed  above  the  people,  and  not  being  held  strictly 
accountable,  are  corrupt  to  the  last  degree;  justice 
is  notoriously  sold  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  the 
bribes  of  revenue  officers  are  supposed  to  exceed  the 
amount  collected.  In  Prussia,  a  country  as  destitute 
of  representation,  perhaps,  as  is  Russia,  the  power  of 
the  crown  is  absolute,  but  it  exists  among  a  thinking, 
intelligent,  and  industrious  people,  who  hold  absolut¬ 
ism  on  its  good  behavior.  The  administration  of  the 
law,  as  well  as  most  functions  of  the  government,  are 
honestly  and  faithfully  performed — perhaps  more  so 
than  in  any  other  country  of  Europe.  It  is  to  be  re¬ 
marked,  however,  that  the  power  of  the  crown  has 
gradually  been  surrounded,  through  ministerial  influ- 


THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE.  263 

ence,  with  such  checks  that  promotion,  from  nepo- 
tism  and  back-door  influence,  are  nearly  impossible. 
Those  checks  consist  in  the  regulations  by  which  ap¬ 
pointments  and  promotions  in  all  the  offices  are  inva¬ 
riably  made.  The  examinations  of  candidates  for 
promotion  are  divided  into  fifteen  general  heads* 
each  of  which  is  subdivided  into  almost  numberless 
questions,  all  of  which  must  be  satisfactorily  an¬ 
swered.  It  is  sometimes  the  case  that  the  kine 
breaks  through  these  checks,  and  places  a  favorite 
in  office,  regardless  of  them.  He  does  this,  however, 
at  his  own  peril,  because  the  whole  official  body 
make  common  cause  against  the  innovation.  In 
England  all  offices  are  in  the  gift  of  the  nobility. 
Until  the  Reform  Bill,  without  the  patronage  of 
a  noble,  no  man  of  unknown  parentage  could  enter 
parliament,  or  force  his  way  into  office,  but 
through  the  pocket-borough  of  a  peer.  Execu¬ 
tive  patronage  was  but  a  system  of  nepotism, 
which,  from  time  immemorial,  has  first  provided 
for  all  the  junior  branches  of  a  noble  family,  the 
private  secretary,  family  solicitor,  and  coachman, 
following  in  regular  succession.  The  three  enumer¬ 
ated  governments  are  well-established,  and  the  author 
hopes  the  intelligent  reader  will  not  confound  them 
with  that  of  the  United  States.  Until  the  last  war, 


*  The  general  heads  of  examination  are  as  follows  :  1.  Description  of  the 

individual.  2.  Particulars  of  birth.  3.  Education.  4.  Former  public  service. 
5.  Particulars  respecting  his  present  service  and  condition.  6.  Particulars  re¬ 
specting  property.  7.  Particulars  respecting  family.  8.  Mode  of  life.  9.  Phys¬ 
ical  constitution.  10.  Character.  11.  Knowledge  of  the  world.  12.  Abilities. 
13.  Accomplishments.  14.  Results  of  his  official  management.  15.  Recom¬ 
mendations. 


17 


264  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

France  presented  a  different  state  of  things.  There 
the  sole  support  of  the  dynasty  and  the  throne  was 
official  patronage.  In  1830,  revolution  placed  upon 
the  throne  a  new  king,  with  a  liberal  constitution,  in 
accordance  with  which  the  country  was  to  be  gov¬ 
erned.  That  constitution  contained  two  fatal  errors. 
It  did  not  limit  executive  patronage,  and  it  did  limit 
the  right  of  suffrage.  These  errors  entirely  neutral¬ 
ized  all  its  wise  provisions,  and  enabled  an  unscru¬ 
pulous  king,  the  offspring  of  the  revolution,  to  cen¬ 
tralize  his  power.  This  centralization,  through  gov¬ 
ernment  patronage,  destroyed  the  liberties  of  the 
French  citizen.  M.  Guizot,  on  one  occasion,  as 
minister  of  the  crown,  made  a  brilliant  speech  upon 
the  question  of  government  corruption.  He  denied 
that  corruption,  properly  speaking,  existed  at  all, 
maintaining  that  in  the  natural  order  of  things,  where 
the  interests  of  certain  classes  and  those  of  the  eov- 

o 

ernment  were  the  same,  corruption  could  not  be 
charged  upon  them  for  pursuing  those  interests.  He 
admitted  that,  in  some  degree,  the  power  of  expendi¬ 
ture,  which  the  government  possessed,  attracted  to 
its  support,  all  those  who,  under  the  limitation  of 
the  laws,  possessed  the  faculty  of  political  activity. 

In  the  United  States,  universal  suffrage  has  alone 
protected  our  institutions  from  the  injurious  influ¬ 
ences  of  executive  patronage,  the  interests  of  which 
has  nevertheless  been  felt  at  times  to  be  utterly  in¬ 
compatible  with  the  free  exercise  of  the  elective 
franchise.  The  constitution  of  the  United  States 
committed  the  error  of  throwing  into  the  hands  of 
the  federal  government  by  far  too  great  an  amount 


THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE. 


265 


of  patronage;  and  had  the  various  attempts  which 
have  been  made  to  limit  the  right  of  suffrage  been 
successful,  there  is  but  little  doubt  but,  at  this  time, 
our  institutions  would  have  been  so  centralized  that 
the  line  of  state’s  sovereignty  would  have  become  so 
indistinct  as  scarcely  to  have  been  distinguishable. 
The  amount  of  patronage  in  the  hands  of  the  federal 
government  is  far  too  great  not  to  jeopardize  the 
purity  of  the  elective  franchise,  and  the  patronage 
seems  now  to  be  in  process  of  rapid  extension,  and 
the  intelligent  farmer  knows  to  what  an  extent  its 
corrupting  influence  may  be  carried  at  the  polls.  The 
number  and  emoluments  of  the  federal  employes,  it 
is  true,  bear  no  proportion  to  those  of  the  European 
countries  the  author  has  cited,  but  is,  nevertheless, 
too  large  for  the  public  good.  While,  however,  the 
patronage  of  the  federal  government  is  the  reward 
of  a  successful  party,  that  success  carries  with  it  not 
only  the  federal  offices,  but  also  those  of  the  several 
states  ;  because,  to  be  successful  in  federal  elections, 
it  is  necessary  that  the  same  party  should  triumph  in 
the  several  States.  The  number  of  offices  in  the  gift 
of  state  executives  is  somewhere  about  60,000,  mak¬ 
ing  any  number  of  offices  dependent  upon  elections, 
and  for  each  office  experience  has  shown  that  there 
will  be  ten  applicants.  Hence,  the  number  of  appli¬ 
cants  is  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  whole  of  the 
voters.  To  them,  the  hope  of  office  is  the  stimu¬ 
lant  to  partisan  activity,  and  their  political  exertions 
in  towns,  cities,  counties,  and  states  constitute  the 
merits  on  which  they  base  their  claims;  while  these 
claims  have  heretofore  been  adjudged  in  “  Central 


266 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


Committees  ”  and  regencies  with  absolute  and  tyran¬ 
nic  sway.  The  Farmers’  Movement  recognizes  King 
Caucus  among  the  tyrants  of  oppression,  with  which 
it  proposes  to  wrestle. 

The  public  have  become  accustomed  to  see  all  pro¬ 
fessional  politicians  alike  dispose  of  place  with  a 
view  to  party  objects  or  private  interests ;  and  the 
honest  press  has  yet  to  discharge  the  duty  of  show¬ 
ing  that  whenever  and  by  whomsoever  such  objects 
are  made  of  primary  consideration,  and  individual 
merit  or  aptitude  for  especial  duties  entirely  disre¬ 
garded,  the  public  interest  is  betrayed.  It  is  not 
from  the  mere  combined  interest  of  this  horde  of 
office-seekers  that  the  greatest  evils  result.  They 
are  but  the  machinery  by  which  the  federal  patronage, 
on  a  broader  and  more  magnificent  scale,  is  sought 
to  promote  the  pecuniary  interests  of  parties. 

The  great  fertility  of  the  soil  of  the  United  States, 
the  enterprise  and  energy  of  the  people,  as  well  as 
their  universal  industry,  assisted  by  the  greatest  im¬ 
provements  in  science  and  the  arts,  are  elements  of 
vast  national  wealth,  far  in  advance  of  those  of  any 
nation  of  the  present,  or  of  any  former  age  of  the 
world.  As  all  these  are  elements  of  great  national 
prosperity,  so  are  they  the  elements  of  one  of  the 
most  powerful  nations  that  ever  existed,  if  a  central 
government  should  have  the  means  of  drawing  any 
considerable  portion  of  this  wealth  from  the  people 
by  taxes,  direct  or  indirect,  and  expending  it  upon 
particular  classes  or  interests,  which  would  thereby 
become  the  creatures  and  supports  of  the  govern¬ 
ment,  ready  to  sustain  any  ambitious  executive  in  his 


THE  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE. 


267 


personal  or  party  schemes.  The  author  need  not 
explain  what  those  schemes  have  been  in  the  past, 
or  what  they  are  likely  to  be  in  the  future.  Enough 
has  been  given  to  convince  the  intelligent  freeman 
that  the  remedy  for  all  his  troubles  is  in  his  own 
hands, — the  free  and  proper  exercise  of  the  elective 
franchise, 


/ 


VOX  POPULI  VOX  DEI. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A  Mockery _ The  Sovereignty  lodged  with  the  People _ The  Will  of  the 

Majority _ Momentary  Outcries - The  Arbitration  of  the  Ballot-Box _ 

The  Working  of  the  System _ In  the  Agricultural  Sections _ The  Abuses 

of  the  Nominating  System _ Light  afforded  by  Figures. 


According  to  Archbishop  Trench,  the  proverb,  Vox 
PopuH  Vox  Dei — “The  voice  of  the  people  is  the 
voice  of  God” — may  be  made  to  contain  a  most  mis¬ 
chievous  falsehood.  “We  must  only  remember,”  he 
adds,  “  that  this  ‘  people’  is  not  the  populace  in  high 
place,  or  in  low;  that  this  ‘voice  of  the  people’ is 
not  any  momentary  outcry,  but  the  consenting  testi¬ 
mony  of  the  good  and  wise,  of  those  neither  brutal¬ 
ized  by  ignorance  nor  corrupted  by  a  false  cultiva¬ 
tion,  in  all  places  and  at  all  times.” 

To  all  who  blindly  accept  and  meekly  submit  to  its 
sway,  the  voice  of  the  people  is  a  mockery  and  the 
maxim  we  have  quoted  a  Napoleonic  subterfuge,  and 
nothing  more.  But  according  to  the  American  sys¬ 
tem,  as  solemnly  enunciated  by  the  founders  of  the 
republic,  governments  are  instituted  among  men  to 
secure  the  “  inalienable  rights  of  life,  liberty  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness,”  and  in  all  cases  they  must  de¬ 
rive  “just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed.” 

By  this  theory  the  sovereignty  is  lodged  absolutely 

268 


VOX  POPULI  VOX  DEI. 


269 


with  the  people  at  large.  If  the  forms  of  govern¬ 
ment  which  they  have  established  in  the  free,  un¬ 
trammeled  exercise  of  this  sovereign  power  partake 
in  any  degree  of  divine  authorization,  it  is  because 
the  voice  of  the  people  is  the  voice  of  God,  and  this 
must  hold  true,  even  if  the  popular  will,  as  thus  ex¬ 
pressed,  has  not  received  “  the  consenting  testimony 
of  the  good  and  wise  in  all  places  and  in  all  times” 
We  can  appeal  from  the  people  to  history  alone — 
there  is  no  other  alternative.  We  can  only  accept 
the  will  of  the  majority  as  the  definite  settlement  of 
every  mooted  point,  whether  it  be  sanctioned  or  con¬ 
demned  by  those  who  rightly  arrogate  to  themselves 
the  virtue  and  wisdom  of  the  ages. 

Momentary  outcries,  springing  from  deep-seated 
prejudices,  or  from  sudden  and  unreasonable  whims 
of  the  populace,  must  of  necessity  prevail  at  times  ; 
while  the  testimony  of  the  good  and  wise  is  frequently 
ignored,  and  the  policy  of  the  government  shaped  by 
ignorance  and  false  culture.  But  these  defects  of  the 
system  are  the  inevitable  accompaniments  of  all  true 
liberty.  We  must  be  content  to  counteract  their  in¬ 
fluences,  as  best  we  may,  or  reject  as  a  whole  the 
cherished  theory  of  mans  capacity  for  self-govern¬ 
ment.  The  great  problem  presented  for  our  solution, 
therefore,  is  the  ascertainment  of  the  popular  will,  as 
representing  “  the  voice  of  God.” 

It  was  our  purpose  to  glance  at  the  workings  of  the 
system,  and  see  how  full  and  faithful  an  expression  is 
given  to  the  popular  will  by  an  appeal  to  the  arbitra¬ 
tion  of  the  ballot-box. 

In  the  first  place,  what  is  commonly  styled  “  a 


270  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

full  vote,”  is  seldom  polled,  except  on  such  rare  occa¬ 
sions  as  presidential  elections ;  and,  even  then,  the 
number  availing  themselves  of  the  privilege  falls  far 
short  of  those  who  are  entitled  to  it.  The  great 
fluctuations  in  the  popular  votes  of  every  state  in  the 
Union,  which  demonstrates  this  fact  at  a  glance,  are 
too  familiar  to  the  general  reader  to  render  it  neces¬ 
sary  to  encumber  these  pages  with  anything  in  the 
way  of  a  comparison  for  that  purpose,  alone.  During 
the  period  from  1790  to  1872  the  vote  of  a  certain 
state  was  comparatively  stationary  at  sixteen  and  six- 
tenths  per  cent,  of  the  white  population. 

In  the  agricultural  sections  of  the  country,  where 
the  legitimate  impediments  in  the  way  of  “  a  full  vote” 
are  greater  than  in  large  and  densely-populated  cities, 
and  where  fraudulent  voting  is  comparatively  un¬ 
known,  the  proportion  of  those  who  habitually  neg¬ 
lect  the  exercise  of  their  political  privileges,  certainly 
does  not  fall  below  the  standard  of  the  two  greatest 
cities  of  the  continent,  even  if  it  does  not  exceed  it. 
The  vote  for  president  from  1790  to  1870  was  com¬ 
paratively  stationary  at  sixteen  and  six-tenths  per 
cent,  of  the  white  population.  From  1840  to  i860, 
we  have  an  average  per  centage  of  sixteen  and  seven- 
tenths.  The  figures  of  the  last  decade  show  an  av¬ 
erage  of  seventy-two  per  cent.  Such  is  the  light  es¬ 
timation  in  which  the  elective  franchise  is  held  by  the 
American  people  ;  and  when  we  come  to  inquire  in¬ 
to  its  causes  and  effects,  we  find  all  impartial  observ¬ 
ers,  of  whatever  faith,  are  in  agreement  upon  one 
point — that  our  present  system  of  delegate  elections 
and  nominating  conventions,  while  its  more  peculiar 


VOX  POPULI  VOX  DEI. 


271 


and  corrupt  features  are  to  be  traced  directly  and 
solely  to  the  apathy  of  the  people,  is  in  itself  the 
cause  of  the  continuance  of  that  apathy,  if  it  is  not 
to  be  regarded  as  its  original  source. 

O  O 

The  abuses  of  the  nominating  system,  under  the 
present  reign  of  King  Caucus,  of  the  two  political 
organizations  into  which  the  voting  population  of  the 
country  is  at  present  divided,  are  so  numerous,  and 
so  manifest,  that  they  do  not  require  repetition  in 
these  pages.  It  is  confessed  as  an  undeniable  fact, 
that  the  machinery  of  both  parties  or  factions,  is,  for 
the  most  part,  in  the  hands  of  the  worst  elements 
which  enter  into  their  composition.  Men  without 
character  and  without  principle  have  obtained  con¬ 
trol  of  these  party  organizations.  By  their  thorough 
knowledge  of  all  the  turns  and  crooks,  and  their  long 
experience  in  the  manipulation  of  delegate  elections 
and  nominating  conventions,  they  are  enabled  to 
maintain  their  power,  and  to  place  under  tribute  al¬ 
most  every  man,  whether  honest  or  dishonest,  who 
would  aspire  to  official  position.  They  wield  this 
power  in  the  most  arbitrary  manner,  making  every 
consideration  of  public  interest  subservient  to  their 
own  private  and  selfish  aims.  To  be  brief,  they  have 
reduced  petty  political  trickery  to  an  elegant  and 
elaborate  science,  and  having  mastered  it  completely, 
the  people  would  appear  to  be  powerless  in  their 
grasp.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  these  fellows  advise  the 
farmers  to  keep  out  of  “politics?”  Why,  the  only 
manner  in  which  this  glaring  abuse  can  be  remedied 
is  for  the  better  class  of  our  citizens — those  upon 
whom  fall  the  heavy  burdens  levied  by  the 


272  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

unscrupulous  “rings”  of  political  tricksters — to 
enter  into  a  fair  and  determined  contest  for  the 
mastery.  The  remedy  is  certainly  distasteful  and  its 
practical  application  repulsive  to  every  sentiment  of 
respectability,  but  fortunately  it  is  not  an  hopeless 
one,  in  the  great  West,  at  least. 

In  the  light  afforded  by  figures  within  easy  reach, 
we  are  certainly  within  bounds  in  placing  the  average 
number  of  qualified  voters  who  participate  in  dele¬ 
gate  elections  of  their  respective  parties  at  not  more 
than  two-thirds  of  those  who  subsequently  find  their 
way  to  the  polls  at  the  regular  elections.  The  latter 
class  embraces,  ordinarily,  not  more  than  three-fourths 
of  those  who  are  entitled  to  the  franchise. 

Thus  it  is,  that  the  popular  will  is  perverted  by 
less  than  one-seventh  of  the  voting  population,  and 
the  maxim,  Vox  Populi  Vox  Dei ,  which  lies  at  the 
base  of  our  political  fabric,  is  rendered  as  much  of  a 
mockery  as  it  has  been  in  France.  A  reform  is  cer¬ 
tainly  needed,  and  it  is  as  certainly  possible,  when  it 
is  seen  that  the  yeomanry  of  the  country  have  taken 
the  work  in  hand.  The  elective  franchise  is  reearded 

o 

by  the  American  people  too  much  in  the  light  of  a 
privilege.  Let  it  assume  the  proportions  of  a  duty, 
the  performance  of  which  is  incumbent  upon  all,  and 
a  marvelous  change  will  result.  A  popular  election 
will  then  become  a  true  expression  of  “the  voice  of 
the  people,”  which  we  can  implicitly  and  safely  accept 
as  “the  voice  of  God.” 

The  outside  reader  may  rest  assured  that  the  far¬ 
mer  is  looking  up  every  detail  of  the  work  he  has  in 
hand. 


THE  TRUE  REMEDY. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Of  Republics _ The  True  Idea _ Complicated  Political  Machinery - 

Rude  Beginnings  Two  Thousand  Years  Ago _ A  Nation  made  up  of  States. 

_ Knowledge  Required  to  Comprehend  this  Intricate  Machinery _ Impar¬ 
tial  Suffrage _ Inviting  Se  f-Destruction _ Educational  Test  of  Fitness _ 

A  Suggestion _ The  Great  Doctrine _ Our  Experience _ Are  Voters  all 

Men  of  Intelligence  ? The  Leaders  of  Parties The  Traffic  of  Demagogues. 

_ The  Remedy — The  Universal  Education  of  the  People. 

A  republic  is  a  state  in  which  the  sovereignty  is 
vested  in  a  people,  enjoying  as  individuals  equal 
powers  in  respect  to  the  government,  and  deriving 
equal  privileges  from  it.  This  is  the  way  the  school 
books  "put  it,  and  is  rather  a  definition  of  what  re¬ 
publics  ought  to  be,  than  of  what  they  have  been  or 
are.  The  republics  of  the  Old  World  were  not  re¬ 
publics  in  the  sense  in  which  the  term  is  now  used, 
and  our  own  government  is  only  an  approximation 
to  what  is  considered  to  be  the  true  idea  of  a  repub¬ 
lic.  Rome,  Athens,  Venice,  Genoa,  and  the  Provinces 
of  the  Netherlands,  were  all  governed  by  privileged 
classes  of  citizens.  This  is  true,  to  a  less  extent,  of 
Switzerland.  Even  in  the  United  States,  the  whole 
people  have  never  been  the  exact  basis  of  sovereignty, 
nor  have  political  powers  and  privileges  ever  been 
equal  among  all  classes  of  persons. 

273  - 


2  74  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

The  political  machinery  required  in  countries 
where  the  people  rule  is  necessarily  complicated. 
Montesquieu  says  truly  that,  of  all  forms  of  govern¬ 
ment,  a  despotism  is  the  simplest,  a  monarchy  the 
next  in  point  of  simplicity,  and  a  republic  the  most 
complex.  In  this  country  a  township  is  the  political 
unit.  It  is  a  little  republic  in  itself,  and  all  who  will 
may  learn  lessons  on  the  science  of  government  and 
the  art  of  statesmanship,  at  their  very  doors.  The 
organization  of  the  township  has  a  history,  too,  that 
reaches  far  back  to  Saxon  times  in  England,  if  it  does 
not  embrace  customs  prevailing  among  the  Germanic 
tribes  of  Central  Europe,  long  antecedent  to  the  ex¬ 
peditions  of  Hengist  and  Horsa — customs  which 
Caesar  found  common  when  he  marched  his  legions 
against  the  northern  barbarians  and  met  them  in 
many  a  fierce  and  bloody  battle.  Counties  are  com¬ 
prised  of  townships,  and  their  political  organization 
is  quite  similar,  but  made  more  general  in  its  scope. 
The  rude  beginnings  of  these  county  organizations, 
like  those  of  townships,  may  be  found  described  by 
Tacitus  and  Caesar,  and  carry  us  back  at  least  two 
thousand  years.  This  merely  to  hint  that  there  is 
nothing  new  under  the  sun.  A  state  is  an  aggregate 
of  counties.  Its  chief  function  is  to  make  laws,  and, 
according  to  American  theories  of  government,  states 
have  all  the  political  growth  and  maturity  necessary 
to  constitute  them  law-making  powers.  The  United 
States  is  a  nation  made  up  of  states.  The  great 
government  of  the  whole  country,  in  its  judicial  and 
executive  functions,  still  adheres  substantially  to  the 
model  of  a  township,  but  its  legitimate  functions  are 


THE  TRUE  REMEDY. 


2  75 

similar  to  those  of  states.  The  federal  government 
has  authority  to  pass  acts  of  particular  kinds  which 
bind  all  the  states,  and  which  no  state  can  abrogate. 
The  states  have  rights,  but  they  are  such  rights  as 
can  be  enjoyed  without  conflicting  with  the  broader 
and  higher  rights  of  the  several  states,  organically 
connected,  as  they  are,  into  one  whole — one  nation. 

Now,  it  requires  no  small  amount  of  knowledge  to 
comprehend  all  this  intricate  machinery,  the  special 
functions  of  its  several  parts,  their  relations  and  adap¬ 
tations,  to  manage  it,  to  keep  it  in  motion,  and  to 
adjust  it  when  out  of  order — all  things  which  belong 
to  the  duty  of  every  good  citizen.  In  a  monarchy,  a 
citizen  may  simply  sit  on  board  of  the  vessel :  in  a 
republic,  he  must  know  how  to  manage  the  ship. 
Without  at  least  a  good  degree  of  knowledge  of  the 
nature  and  working  of  their  own  political  institutions, 
the  citizens  of  a  republic  are  simply  blind  leaders  of 
the  blind,  and  they  not  only  cannot  escape  the  fate 
of  such  leaders,  but  their  country  must  naturally 
perish  with  them.  An  independent,  self-governed 
nation  must  be  composed  of  independent,  self-gov¬ 
erned  men. 

A  pure  republic  must  make  suffrage  impartial. 
Under  such  a  government,  none  could  be  denied  the 
elective  franchise,  save  those  wanting  the  necessary 
qualifications  for  its  proper  exercise.  To  deprive  any 
one,  well  qualified,  of  the  right  of  voting,  on  account 
of  some  adventitious  circumstance,  would  be  tyranny. 
To  "allow  the  ignorant  to  vote  would  be  to  invite 
self-destruction.  In  this  country,  circumstances  of 
political  inexpediency  have  been  allowed  to  prevent 


276  GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 

the  right  of  suffrage  from  being  strictly  impartial, 
but  it  is  none  the  less  necessary  here  that  an  educa¬ 
tional  test  of  fitness  for  its  exercise  should  be  every¬ 
where  applied.  It  would  be  bad  policy,  perhaps,  to 
take  away  the  right  to  vote  from  any  one  who  now 
enjoys  it,  but  it  might  be  fixed  that,  after  the  lapse  of 
a  certain  time,  no  one  should  vote  who  could  not  at 
least  read  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  write  his  name.  No  prophetic 
gift  is  claimed,  in  predicting  that  future  patriots,  in 
legislating  to  preserve  free  institutions,  will  find  this 
standard  of  voting  qualifications  much  too  low,  for 
the  great  doctrine  is,  that  the  right  to  vote  implies  its 
intelligent  exercise,  and  ignorance  should  be  its  natu¬ 
ral  forfeiture. 

The  necessity  of  the  universal  education  of  the 
masses  of  the  people  of  this  country  has  been  recog¬ 
nized  by  our  wisest  statesmen.  Washington  says,  in 
his  farewell  address,  “In  proportion  as  the  structure 
of  a  government  gives  force  to  public  opinion,  it  is 
essential  that  public  opinion  should  be  enlightened.” 
DeWitt  Clinton  asserts,  “  That  the  first  duty  of  a 
state  is  the  encouragement  of  education  ;  a  general 
diffusion  of  knowledge  is  the  precursor  and  protector 
of  republican  institutions.”  Montesquieu  writes,  “  It 
is  in  a  republican  government  that  the  whole  power 
of  education  is  required.”  De  Tocqueville  saw  into 
the  very  heart  of  the  matter,  when  he  penned  the 
words :  “  In  examining  the  Constitution  of  the 

United  States,  which  is  the  most  perfect  federal  con¬ 
stitution  that  ever  existed,  one  is  startled  at  the 
variety  of  information  and  amount  of  discernment 


THE  TRUE  REMEDY.  277 

which  it  presupposes  in  the  people  whom  it  is  meant 
to  govern.”  . 

These  opinions  seem  to  be  founded  upon  the  gen¬ 
eral  nature  of  republican  government.  In  a  despot¬ 
ism  one  man  rules  according  to  his  own  will.  To 
govern  well,  he  alone  needs  an  education.  In  a  mon¬ 
archy  the  emperor  or  king  rules,  in  conjunction  with 
certain  privileged  classes,  and,  so  far  as  good  govern¬ 
ment  is  concerned,  education  may  be  confined  to 
those  who  rule.  In  an  oligarchy,  or  an  aristocracy, 
the  government  is  managed  by  a  few ;  if  these  few 
are  taught  how  to  govern,  education  need  extend  no 
further.  But  in  a  republic,  all  men  rule — all  men  are 
sovereigns — all  men  are  monarchs  and  sit  on  thrones, 
and  no  such  country  can  be  well  governed,  unless 
education  is  made  universal.  The  right  to  govern 
implies  a  knowledge  of  how  to  govern. 

To  make  the  question  a  practical  one,  what  is  our 
experience  ?  Are  all  the  voters  at  our  polls  men  of 
intelligence  ?  Do  all  understand  the  issues  which 
they  decide?  Do  all  vote  independently,  uninflu¬ 
enced  by  passion,  by  prejudice,  by  importuning  poli¬ 
ticians,  by  “considerations?”  Ask  in  their  moments 
of  reflection  the  leader^  of  parties  in  our  great 
cities,  and  they  may  unfold  a  tale  that  will  mantle 
the  cheek  of  the  patriot  with  a  blush  of  shame,  if  it 
does  not  make  him  tremble  for  his  country.  Tens  of 
thousands  of  men  vote  every  year  who  know  little 
more  of  what  they  vote  for,  or  why  they  vote 
at  all,  than  would  animals  brought  up  from  the  stall 
or  the  sty.  Demagogues  shamelessly  traffic  in  the 
votes  of  so-called  freemen,  and,  through  their  means, 


2  78 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


hold  high  office,  and  vampire-like,  are  sucking  away 
the  very  life-blood  of  the  nation.  One  single  igno¬ 
rant  vote  is  a  sore  upon  the  body  politic ;  thousands 
constitute  a  festering  ulcer ;  tens  of  thousands  must 
bring  corruption  and  death.  The  Farmers’  Move¬ 
ment  sounds  the  alarm  in  time.  Let  the  danger  be 
made  known,  and,  with  the  same  voice,  proclaim  the 
remedy — the  universal  education  of  the  people.  With 
universal  education,  the  republic  lives — without  it,  it 
dies. 

Theoretically,  no  man  is  fully  qualified  to  vote  for 
another  to  fill  an  office,  that  he  could  not  fill  himself; 
but  if  such  a  thing  is  questionable,  it  is  still  true  that 
those  who  actually  hold  office  should  be  competent 
to  discharge  its  duties.  Are  there  any  ignorant 
office-holders  in  the  United  States?  In  townships? 
In  counties?  In  cities?  In  states?  At  Washing- 
ton  ?  If  so,  does  the  nation  suffer  by  it  ?  The 
Farmers’  Movement,  in  asking  these  questions,  an¬ 
swers  by  asking  others.  Can  ignorant  pilots  skill¬ 
fully  navigate  vessels  ?  Can  ignorant  engineers  safely 
run  railway  trains  ?  Do  ignorant,  uneducated  men, 
at  the  head  of  the  government,  fairly  represent  the 
education,  culture  and  refinement  of  this  people? 
Can  ignorant  men  wisely  conduct  the  affairs  of  great 
nations  ? 

The  science  of  government  is  one  of  the  most 
abstruse  of  the  sciences.  Principles  appertaining  to 
the  deepest  mental  and  moral  philosophy  are  in¬ 
volved  in  it.  Underlying  it  are,  also,  the  deductions 
of  political  economy,  jurisprudence  and  constitutional 
law.  It  is  darkness  without  the  light  of  history. 


THE  TRUE  REMEDY. 


2/9 

The  art  of  statesmanship  is  the  noblest  of  arts.  The 
true  statesman  must  be  a  philosopher,  and  much 
more.  He  must  have  his  ideals  of  the  purposes  of 
government  and  of  life,  and  of  the  means  necessary 
to  secure  them,  though  his  province  is  to  enact  into 
laws  measures  suited  to  the  condition  of  society. 
Never  forgetting  the  high  claims  of  the  good,  his 
aim  is  to  be  practical.  His  art  consists  in  what  is 
expressed  in  the  much-abused  word,  “  policy.”  A 
statesman  is  never  required  to  sacrifice  a  principle. 
He  may  have  his  head  up  among  the  clouds,  but  he 
must  keep  his  feet  upon  the  earth  ;  he  may  worship 
with  the  angels,  but  it  is  with  men  that  he  must 
work. 

In  such  a  manner,  and  so  high,  should  the  science 
of  government  and  the  art  of  statesmanship  be  esti¬ 
mated.  Ignorant  men  can  neither  master  the  one 
nor  practice  the  other.  In  monarchies,  the  offices  are 
held  by  privileged  classes,  who  prepare  themselves 
for  their  duties.  In  republics,  the  people  choose 
their  officers  from  among  themselves,  and  they  must 
be  educated  to  choose  them  wisely.  There  is  no  • 
alternative  in  countries  like  our  own,  but  either  to 
educate  the  people  or  be  ruled  by  the  ignorant. 

This  nation  has  suffered  from  ignorant  rulers — is 
suffering  from  them  now.  To  those  who  but  half 
know  the  sad  story  of  the  incompetency  of  officials 
of  every  grade,  it  is  a  wonder  that  our  country  con¬ 
tinues  so  prosperous  and  so  strong.  It  will  not 
always  be  so.  God  has  protected  us  so  far,  as  he  pro¬ 
tected  the  children  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness  ;  but 
we  are  reaching  manhood  and  must  take  care  of  our- 

1 8 


28o 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


selves.  Let  an  effort  be  made  to  lift  the  nation  out 
of  its  darkness — its  danger — by  giving  to  all  classes, 
all  races,  all  colors  of  people  among  us,  the  opportu¬ 
nity  of  obtaining  an  education  that  will  fit  them  for 
their  duties  as  citizens  of  the  republic,  and  as  men. 
No  other  nation  has  done  so  much  for  the  education 
of  the  masses:  in  no  other  nation  is  the  duty  so  im¬ 
perative  to  do  more. 


i 


FROM  THE  NATIONAL  GRANGE. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

[The  author  has  been  requested  to  give  place  in  these  pages  to  the  following 
letter  from  brother  Wilkinson,  General  Deputy  of  the  National  Grange.  It  will 
explain  itself.] 

Reading,  Pa.,  Aug.  1 5. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  New  York  Times : 

Sir:  Your  paper  of  yesterday  contained  an  arti¬ 
cle  headed  “Chaff  for  Farmers,”  in  which  you  take 
some  singular  ground  and  make  some  remarkable 
statements,  and  as  a  Patron  and  a  Republican  I  wish 
a  little  explanation. 

The  Times  claims  to  be  one  of  the  leading  organs 
of  the  party  and  of  the  Administration,  hence,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  recently  accepted  doctrine,  you  are  a 
“  Simon-pure  ”  Republican,  and,  as  such,  all  your  po¬ 
litical  utterances  are  entitled  to  consideration. 

The  points  on  which  I  wish  explanation  are  em¬ 
braced  in  that  part  of  your  article  which  follows,  to 
wit : 

When  they  get  control  of  the  federal  government 
do  they  propose  to  move  the  crops  at  public  expense, 
or  to  pass  a  law  requiring  the  railroads  to  do  it  for  a 
specified  sum?  Or  do  they  propose  to  enter  upon  a 
gigantic  series  of  internal  improvements  by  the  fed¬ 
eral  government,  and  furnish  the  farmer  with  new 
and  cheap  lines  of  transportation  to  the  markets  of 
the  world  ? 


281 


282 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


And  then  you  declare  that  “  such  a  policy  would 
be  subversive  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
American  government.” 

Now,  if  in  this  article  you  are  speaking  for  the 
Republican  party  and  for  the  administration,  the  Pa¬ 
trons  who  like  myself  are  Republicans  (and  we  con¬ 
stitute  to-day  two-thirds  of  the  Order)  wish  to  know 
what  the  Republican  party  intends  to  do,  and  what  it 
can  do  to  help  the  oppressed  and  struggling  produc* 
ers  of  the  country.  If  it  is  true  that  the  Republican 
party  would  regard  either  of  the  remedies  you  men¬ 
tion  as  a  subversion  of  the  principles  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  government,  then  the  toiling  millions  of  the 
country  must  look  to  some  other  quarter  for  relief. 

A  Republican  President  last  December  recom¬ 
mended  to  Congress,  in  his  annual  message,  the  most 
“gigantic  series  of  internal  improvements  ”  which  has 
ever  been  proposed  by  any  man  or  by  any  party  since 
the  foundation  of  the  government,  and  it  was  recom¬ 
mended  for  the  express  purpose  of  helping  the  pro¬ 
ducers.  Was  he  recommending  something  which,  if 
carried  out,  would  be  subversive  of  the  principles  of 
the  government?  Or  was  it  not  done  in  good  faith? 
Was  it  merely  a  tub  thrown  to  the  whale?  Was  it 
“  chaff  for  the  farmers  ?”  On  this  we,  as  Patrons,  want 
light.  Again  you  ask,  “  If  they  get  possession  of  the 
government,  do  they  propose  to  pass  a  law  requiring 
the  railroads  to  move  the  crops  for  a  specified  sum  ?” 
And  declare  this  remedy  also  to  be  subversive  of  the 
principles  of  the  government. 

You  will  find  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  Art.  1,  Sec.  8,  this  language :  “Congress  shall 


FROM  THE  NATIONAL  GRANGE.  283 

have  power  to  regulate  commerce  among  the  several 
states.”  Does  that  clause  mean  anything?  It  is  true, 
that,  so  far  as  railroad  commerce  is  concerned,  it  is  a 
dead  letter,  but  we  do  not  intend  it  shall  remain  so 
much  longer.  The  people  are  all  demanding  action, 
and  in  a  year  or  two  their  voice  will  be  heard  in  thun¬ 
der  tones  at  the  doors  of  the  National  Capitol,  and 
if  the  republican  party  can  afford  them  no  relief  the 
people  will  find  a  party  that  can. 

You  quote  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  democratic 
conventions  of  Maine,  Maryland,  and  Ohio,  and  find 
fault  with  the  democracy  for  adopting  them,  but  you 
can  not  deny  their  truth.  It  is  our  boast  as  republi¬ 
cans  that  ours  is  the  party  of  progress.  If  these  res¬ 
olutions  are  of  a  progressive  character,  why  do  you 
not  recommend  them  to  us  as  republicans,  and  insist 
that  they  be  not  only  adopted,  but  acted  upon  by  the 
party?  Instead,  you  forget  the  present,  and  close 
your  eyes  on  the  future,  and  go  to  the  past  and  drag 
in  before  us  the  slavery  question,  long  since  settled, 
to  arouse  a  prejudice  or  to  conceal  a  purpose.  As 
republicans,  we  are  proud  of  the  past  history  of  our 
party,  but,  looking  at  its  present  condition  and  the 
position  it  occupies,  we  are  filled  with  anxiety  and 
alarm,  and  we  begin  to  fear  that  its  “glory  has 
departed.” 

The  journalists,  the  statesmen,  the  heroes  of  its 
earlier  and  better  days — Greeley,  Raymond,  Lin¬ 
coln,  Chase,  Seward,  Baker,  and  many  others — are  in 
their  graves.  Sumner,  the  hero  of  a  hundred  battles 
in  the  war  for  freedom,  is  sinking  under  the  injuries 
inflicted  by  the  assassin  in  the  halls  of  the  highest  coun- 


284 


GRAINS  FOR  THE  GRANGERS. 


cil  of  the  nation.  In  place  of  these  immortal  names 
we  find  the  party  now  largely  made  up  of  small  pol¬ 
iticians  and  adventurers,  who  seem  to  think  that  to 
seize  and  retain  the  emoluments  of  office  is  all  there 
is  of  statesmanship.  “  How  are  the  mighty  fallen.” 

It  is  fast  becoming  a  settled  conviction  among  the 
masses  that  railroad  and  money  monopolies  have 
taken  possession  of  the  republican  party,  and  that  it 
is  being  used  to  establish  and  perpetuate  wrongs  up¬ 
on  the  many  for  the  benefit  of  the  few.  The  states¬ 
men  smile,  and  its  journalists  sneer,  at  the  rude  at¬ 
tempt  made  by  the  yeomanry  of  the  country  to  ar¬ 
rest  its  downward  course,  but  they  neither  suggest  a 
plan  nor  furnish  a  remedy  for  the  redress  of  these 
wrongs,  and,  unless  its  leaders  can  solve  this  new 
problem  successfully,  its  future  history  will  be  short. 

The  advice  we  receive  from  both  the  journalist  and 
politician  is,  “Stick  to  your  party:  remember  its  past 
history,  its  glorious  record.  Be  patient.”  Patience  is 
one  of  the  cardinal  virtues,  but  there  is  a  point  where 
it  ceases  to  be  a  virtue,  and  that  point,  in  our  case,  is 
nearly  reached. 

You  say,  “  In  all  of  their  objects  except  the  cheap¬ 
ening  of  transportation,  the  Granges  have  already 
answered  their  purpose.”  Permit  me  to  inform  you 
that  you  are  not  informed,  or  else  you  are  willfully 
misrepresenting  facts.  This  is  a  much  more  compre¬ 
hensive  movement  than  you  seem  to  suppose,  and 
our  work  is  scarcely  begun. 

In  conclusion,  you  call  attention  to  the  committee 
appointed  by  the  senate,  and  add,  “  to  gather  all 
available  knowledge  on  the  subject  of  transportation, 


FROM  THE  NATIONAL  GRANGE.  285 

and  that  they  will  give  to  the  farmers  a  mass  of  in¬ 
formation  on  the  transportation  question  which  will 
be  invaluable  in  helping  them  out  of  their  troubles.” 
The  farmers  have  all  the  information  now  that  is  nec¬ 
essary  to  arrive  at  an  intelligent  conclusion.  They 
are  ready  to  act,  but  you  insist  that  they  shall  not, 
but  that  they  shall  act  with  the  republican  party  ; 
and  at  the  same  time  you  intimate  that  all  the  com¬ 
mittee  intend  to  do  is  to  furnish  information,  and 
that  the  farmers  must  help  themselves  out  of  their 
troubles.  Will  you  tell  us  how  ?  Why  act  any  long¬ 
er  with  a  party  whose  leaders  and  statesmen  can  find 
no  remedy  or  afford  us  no  relief? 

We  have  but  little  hope  from  the  action  of  that 
committee.  None  of  the  names  you  mention  have 
in  their  public  acts  arisen  above  the  politician  and 
the  partisan,  and  thus  far  they  are  innocent  of  anything 
that  looks  like  statesmanship.  It  is  whispered,  too, 
that  they  are  dabblers  in  railroad  stocks,  and  are  al¬ 
so  in  the  employ  of  railroads  as  counsel.  If  so,  we 
anticipate  what  the  report  will  be,  but  we  will  wait 
patiently  and  see. 

Let  me  say  in  conclusion:  The  issues  involved  in 
this  movement  must  be  settled,  and  there  is  no  neu- 
tral  ground. 

The  republican  party  and  its  organs  will  have  to 
meet  the  issues  fairly.  They  can  choose  their  ground 
and  abide  the  consequences. 

This  blowing  hot  and  cold  with  the  same  breath 
will  not  answer  the  purpose.  Respectfully  yours, 

J.  Wilkinson. 


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The  Secret  Service  in  the  Late  War. 

Comprising  the  Author’s  Introduction  to  the  Leading  Men  at  Washington, 
with  the  Origin  and  Organization  of  the  Detective  Police  and  a 
Graphic  History  of  his  Rich  Experiences,  North  and  South. 

By  GENERAL  L.  C.  BAKER, 

LATE  CHIEF  OF  THE  NATIONAL  DETECTIVE  POLICE. 

WITH  NUMEROUS  FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 
12mo.  Cloth  Extra,  Black  and  Relief  Sides.  Brice,  $2. 


Presenting  to  the  public  the  operations  of  the 
Bureau  of  the  National  Detective  Police  during 
the  late  civil  war.  It  is  a  narrative  of  facts  in 
the  secret  history  of  the  conflict  and  an  expose 
of  manifold  gigantic  frauds  and  crimes  of  both 
the  o*wM»ly  diBloyal  and  the  professed  friends  of 


the  Republic.  General  Baker  tells  his  own  ex¬ 
perience  in  this  work,  what  his  own  eyes  saw, 
and  what  he  was  able  to  accomplish  as  the  Chief 
of  the  National  Police,  and  narrates  many  peril¬ 
ous  adventures,  hairbreadth  escapes,  humorous 
scenes  and  valuable  services. 


OF 


Dr.  David  Livingstone 

THE  GEEAT  EXPLORER, 

Including  his  Extensive  Travels  and  Discoveries  in  Central  and  South  Africa, 
as  detailed  in  his  Diary,  Reports  and  letters ;  together  with  the  • 
Explorations  of  Barth,  Baker,  Speke,  Du  Chaillu, 
and  others,  and  a  Full  Account  of 

The  Herald-Stanley  Expedition, 

With  a  Biographical  Sketch  of  HENRY  M,  STANLEY,  Esq., 

Special  Correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald. 

To  which  is  added  a  Graphic  Narrative  of  Livingstone’s  Death  in  the  Wilds  of 
Africa,  the  Return  of  the  Remains  to  England,  their  Burial  in  West¬ 
minster  Abbey,  and  his  Last  Letters  to  his  Friends. 

WITH  MAPS  AND  NUMEROUS  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

12 mo.  Cloth  Extra,  Blaclc  and  Belief  Sides.  Price,  $2. 


Africa  is  the  division  of  the  World  the  most 
interesting  and  about  which  we  know  the  least. 
Its  very  name  is  a  mystery;  of  its  vast  territory 
the  larger  part  remains  yet  undiscovered.  The 
dangers  from  climate,  wild  beasts  and  savages 
have  been  60  great  that  none  but  the  most  in¬ 
trepid  have  ever  dared  to  attempt  a  thorough 
research.  It  was  left,  however,  for  Livingstone, 


the  greatest  of  Africa’s  explorers,  to  penetrate 
the  farthest  into  and  to  reveal  most  of  the  mys¬ 
teries  of  this  remarkable  country.  The  general 
plan  of  this  book  is  Biographical,  Dr.  Living¬ 
stone  being  the  principal  character  of  the  volume. 
The  realm  of  History  has  been  made  richer  by 
the  publication  of  these  wonderful  researches 
and  discoveries. 


This  Fatal  Secret. 


By  IDA  GLENWOOD, 

THE  BLIND  BARD  OF  MICHIGAN. 

WITH  IJ  O  Ft  T  Ft  AIT  ON  STEEL. 
12mo.  Cloth  Extra,  Blade  and  Belief  Sides.  Price,  $2. 


A  story  of  Owaeta,  the  “  Wild  Flower  of  Mack¬ 
inaw,”  who  was  educated  in  the  early  Mission 
School  and  Chapel  of  the  Island.  Lovely  in 
person  and  mind,  after  passing  through  many 
exciting  adventures,  she  is  discovered  as  a  pure- 
blooded  “  pale-face,”  and  the  lost  daughter  of  a 
wealthy  family.  The  author,  blind  for  many 
years,  is  a  lady  of  Refined  Tastes,  Superior  Cul¬ 
ture,  Vivid  Imagination  and  a  True  Affectionate 


Heart.  In  the  Fatal  Secret  she  has  drawn  upon 
all  these  qualifications,  giving  to  the  public  a 
work  highly  moral  in  tone,  well  written,  and 
with  the  characters  admirably  drawn  and  well 
sustained  to  the  lastv  An  absorbingly  interest¬ 
ing  book  from  beginning  to  end.  The  press  is 
unqualified  in  its  praise,  and  a  venerable  clergy¬ 
man  says  of  it,  “  It  is  the  most  interesting  and 
bewitching  thing  I  ever  read.” 


Grains  for  the  Grangers. 

DISCUSSING  ALL  POINTS  BEARING  UPON 

THE  FARMERS’  MOVEMENT 

For  the  Emancipation  of  White  Slaves  from  the  Slave  Power  of  Monopoly. 

By  8TEPHE  SMITH. 

12mo.  Cloth  Extra,  Blade,  and  Belief  Sides.  Price,  $1.75. 


A  hook  for  the  Farmer  and  all  interested  in  the 
overthrow  of  stupendous  monopolies,  and  is  writ¬ 
ten  in  a  racy,  fearless  style.  It  gives  a  history  of 
the  origin  and  progress  of  the  “Grange  Move¬ 
ment,”  which,  starting  a  few  yekrs  ago  in  Wash¬ 
ington,  has  developed  into  a  vast  National  organ¬ 


ization,  extending  its  influence  into  every  State 
and  Territory  of  our  great  Union.  It  shows  how 
this  great  movement  has  united  in  fraternal 
bonds  and  for  mutual  protection  multitudes  of 
the  hardy  sons  of  the  soil  under  the  somewhM 
pleasing  name  of  “  Patrons  of  Husbandry .” 


NEW  AND  LATE  BOOKS 


PUBLISHED  BY 


j  * 

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Historical  and  Secret  Memoirs  or  the 

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romance.  Translated  from  the  French  of  M’lle  Le  Normand,  by  Jacob  M.  How- 
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Memoirs  of  the  Court  of  Marie  Antol* 

Nette.  An  instructive  work — one  of  the  most  intensely  interesting  ever  issued 
from  the  American  press — the  events  of  which  should  be  familiar  to  alh  Bj 
Mapame  Campan.  With  Biographical  Introduction  by  M.  De  Lamartine.  2 
vols.  in  one.  Cloth.  Price  $1  75. 

Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Mary,  Queen  of 

Scots.  Affording  a  complete  and  authentic  history  of  the  unfortunate  Mary,  with 
materials  and  letters  not  used  by  other  authors,  making  up  a  volume  of  rare  in* 
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Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Anne  Boleyn, 

Queen  op  Henry  VIII.  In  the  records  of  biography  there  is  no  character  that 
more  forcibly  exemplifies  the  vanity  of  human  ambition,  or  more  thoroughly 
enlists  the  attention  of  the  reader  than  this — the  Seventh  American,  and  front 
the  Third  London  Edition.  By  Miss  Benqeb.  With  portrait  on  steel.  Cloth.  $173. 

Heroic  Women  of  History.  Containing  the 

most  extraordinary  examples  of  female  courage  of  ancient  and  modern  times, 
and  set  before  the  wives,  sisters,  and  daughters  of  the  country,  in  the  hope  that 
it  may  make  them  even  more  renowned  for  resolution,  fortitude,  and  self-sacrifioe 
than  the  Spartan  females  of  old.  By  Henry  C.  Watson.  With  Illustrations. 
Cloth.  $1  75. 

Public  and  Private  History  of  Louis  Na¬ 
poleon,  Emperor  op  the  French.  An  impartial  view  of  the  public  and  private 
career  of  this  extraordinary  man,  giving  full  information  in  regard  to  his  most 
distinguished  ministers,  generals,  relatives  and  favorites.  By  Samuel  M. 
Schmuckeb,  LL,  D.  With  portraits  on  Steel.  Cloth.  $1  75. 

Life  and  Reign  of  Nicholas  I.,  Emperor 

of  Russia.  The  only  complete  history  of  this  great  personage  that  has  appeared 
in  the  English  language,  and  furnishes  interesting  facts  in  connection  with  Ru»* 
sian  society  and  government  of  great  practical  value  to  the  attentive  reader.  By 
Samuel  M.  Schmuckeb,  LL.  D.  With  Illustrations.  Cloth.  $1  75. 

Life  and  Times  of  George  Washington. 

A  concise  and  condensed  narrative  of  Washington’s  career,  especially  adapted  to 
the  popular  reader,  and  presented  as  the  best  matter  upon  this  immortal  theme- 
one  especially  worthy  the  attention  and  admiration  of  every  American.  By 
Samuel  M.  Schmucker,  LL.  D.  With  Portrait  on  steel.  Cloth.  $1  75. 


MEW  AND  LATE  BOOKS. 


3 


Life  and  Times  of  Alexander  Hamilton. 

Incidents  of  a  career  that  will  never  lose  its  singular  power  to  attract  and  in¬ 
struct,  while  giving  impressive  lessons  of  the  brightest  elements  of  character, 
surrounded  and  assailed  by  the  basest.  By  Samuel  M.  Schmuckeb,  LL.  D.  With 
Portrait  on  steel.  Cloth.  $1  75. 

Life  and  Times  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  In 

which  the  author  has  presented  both  the  merits  and  defects  of  this  great  repre* 
sentative  hero  in  their  true  light,  and  has  studiously  avoided  indiscriminate 
praise  or  wholesale  censure.  By  Samuel  M.  Schmuckek,  LL.  D.  With  Portrait. 
Cloth.  $1  75.  J 

Life  of  Benjamin  Franklin.  Furnishing  a 

superior  and  comprehensive  record  of  this  celebrated  Statesman  and  Philoso¬ 
pher — rich  beyond  parallel  in  lessons  of  wisdom  for  every  age,  calling  and  con¬ 
dition  in  life,  public  and  private.  By  0.  L.  Holley.  With  Portrait  on  steel  and 
Illustrations  on  wood.  Cloth.  $1  75. 

Public  and  Private  Life  of  Daniel  Web- 

stek.  The  most  copious  and  attractive  collection  of  personal  memorials  concern¬ 
ing  the  great  Statesman  that  has  hitherto  been  published,  and  by  one  whose 
intimate  and  confidential  relations  with  him  afford  a  guarantee  for  their  authen¬ 
ticity.  By  Gen.  S.  P.  Lyman.  With  Illustrations.  Cloth.  $1  75. 

( 

Life  and  Times  of  Henry  Clay.  An  impar¬ 
tial  biography,  presenting,  by  bold  and  simple  strokes  of  the  historic  pencil,  a 
portraiture  of  the  illustrious  theme  which  no  one  should  fail  to  read,  and  ne 
library  be  without.  By  Samuel  M.  Schmucheb,  LL.  D.  With  Portrait  on  steeL 
Cloth.  $1  75. 

Life  and  Public  Services  of  Stephen  A. 

Douglas.  A  true  and  faithful  exposition  of  the  leading  incidents  of  his  brilliant 
career  arranged  so  as  to  instruct  the  reader  and  produce  the  careful  study  which 
the  life  of  so  great  a  man  deserves.  By  H.  M.  Flint.  With  Portrait  on  ateeL 
CToth.  $  1  75. 


4 


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Life  and  Public  Services  oe  Abraham  Lin% 

coln.  (In  both  the  English  and  German  languages.)  As  a  record  of  this  great 
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index  over  each  page,  from  which  the  reader  can  familiarize  himself  with  ths 
contents  by  glancing  through  it.  By  Frank  Crosby,  of  the  Philadelphia  Bax, 
With  Portrait  on  steel.  Cloth.  $1  75. 

i 

Lire  of  Daniel  Boone,  the  Great  "Western 

Hujtcer  and  Pioneer.  Comprising  graphic  and  authentic  accounts  of  his  daring; 
thrilling  adventures,  wonderful  skill,  coolness  and  sagacity  under  the  most  has- 
ardous  circumstances,  with  an  autobiography  dictated  by  himself-  By  Cecil  B. 
Hartley.  With  Illustration^.  Cloth.  $1  75. 

i  v  ‘ 

Life  of  Colonel  David  Crocket,  the  Ori^ 

ginal  Humorist  and  Irrepressible  Backwoodsman.  Showing  his  strong  will 
and  indomitable  spirit,  his  bear  hunting,  his  military  services,  his  career  in  Con¬ 
gress,  and  his  triumphal  tour  through  the  States — written  by  himself;  to  which 
is  added  the  account  of  his  glorious  death  at  the  Alamo.  With  Illustrations. 
Cloth.  $1  75. 

Life  of  Kit  Carson,  the  Great  "Western 

Hunter  and  Guide.  An  exciting  volume  of  wild  and  romantic  exploits,  thrilling 
adventures,  hair-breadth  escapes,  daring  coolness,  moral  and  physical  courage, 
and  invaluable  services — such  as  rarely  transpire  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
By  Charles  Burdett.  With  Illustrations.  Cloth.  $1  75. 

Life  of  Captain  John  Smith,  the  Founder 

of  Virginia.  The  adventures  contained  herein  serve  to  denote  the  more  noble 
and  daring  events  of  a  period  distinguished  by  its  spirit,  its  courage,  and  its  pas¬ 
sion,  and  challenges  the  attention  of  the  American  people.  By  W.  Gilmorb 
Simms.  With  Illustrations.  Price  $1  75. 

Life  of  General  Francis  Marion,  the 

Celebrated  P  ’  ..usan  Hero  of  the  Revolution.  This  was  one  of  the  most 
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By  Cecil  B.  Hah  n  by.  With  Illustrations.  Clota.  $1  75. 


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